


with stars in her eyes

by ilvermoron



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, NPCs just trying to get out alive, background anidala, for the aesthetic, girl jedi are involved, gossiping about anidala, inspired by thor ragnarok ngl, space sorority girls, star wars with a neon aesthetic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 79,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23023309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilvermoron/pseuds/ilvermoron
Summary: Padme Amidala's three ladies-in-waiting are incapable of staying in their lane.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. ... baby one more time

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just here to produce terrible content and have a good time. pro tip: listening to the songs the chapters are named after makes the experience more Immersive. i curated this aesthetic carefully. it doesn't make this less trash but i don't care.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Norephine and Kelisian battle it out with a fake lightsaber, Sarenee debates telling them the impossible gossip she's overheard in the Senate that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm just here to produce terrible content and have a good time.   
> pro tip: listening to the songs the chapters are named after makes the experience more Immersive. i curated this aesthetic carefully. it doesn't make this less trash but i don't care.  
> PRONUNCIATION GUIDE:   
> Norephine "Nori" Leela (nor-EFF-in-EE "NOR-ee" LEE-la)  
> Kelisian "Lisia" Qar-Maksis (kuh-LEES-ee-an "LEES-ee-uh" kar-MAX-is)  
> Sarenee "Sare" Slandor (SARR-in-AY "SARR-uh" SLAN-dor)

“You’re gonna kill somebody doing that,” Kelisian pointed out.

Norephine stopped her motion for a moment only. “It’s not a real one,” she shrugged, then resumed swinging the metal scrap. With each swoop of the make-believe saber, the tear in the shoulder of her top popped open another few inches.

Across the room, Kelisian giggled. She brushed pink sugar crumbs off the lap of her dress and leveled Sarenee with a knowing stare. “I told you not to give that to her,” she repeated for the third time.

Sarenee didn’t let her regret show on her face. She would sooner die than admit her mistakes to Kelisian. It would just go to her head, and Sarenee didn’t have the time today to defend her decisions. There were greater problems facing her.

Instead of arguing with Kelisian, Sarenee stood up. The fabric of her gossamer gown shifted in the late morning light and cast tiny rainbows on the marbled floor. She strode towards the open window overlooking the golden city below. Seemingly endless columns of shining metal scraped the blush-and-silver sky.

“What’s wrong with her?” Norephine asked Kelisian, probably referencing Sarenee. Her voice sounded too steady for someone pretending to be a Jedi.

Sarenee didn’t turn around, but she wondered if Norephine had stopped swinging the scrap metal she’d acquired. Just as the thought crossed her mind, she caught a glimpse of Norephine in the reflection of a glass pillar, catching the tip of the pretend saber in her flowing pants. It clattered out of her grip and onto the floor. 

Kelisian snickered. Her slippers made soft scuffs across the floor as she stood up and retrieved the metal bar. Sarenee watched both of them in the reflection of the pillar.

“Hey, Nori,” Kelisian began, barely containing her laughter. She returned the metal bar to Nori’s grasp, but didn’t return to the sofa just yet. “Padme’s too nice to tell you this, but you look ridiculous.”

Nori lowered her head. She didn’t look dissimilar to a bull preparing to charge. “That sounds like a challenge,” she responded, her voice low with feigned aggression.

“Nori, no,” Kelisian muttered, rapidly backing away from the other girl. She ran into the sofa and flipped over onto her back with a yelp.

Nori simply giggled. “Nori,  _ yes _ ,” she declared. With what was supposed to be a mighty roar, she leapt onto the back of the couch. "You're going down, Master Qar-Maksis!"

Kelisian let out a false yell that should've been a petrified shriek. "Oh, no, I'm terrified," she deadpanned.

Sarenee turned back to her companions before Nori could continue her attack. “Master Leela, can you… not?”

Nori paused her onslaught. She looked up at Sarenee with wide, innocent eyes. “I wasn’t really going to hurt her,” she explained quickly. A smile played with the corner of her mouth. "Master Slandor," she added.

Sarenee waved the concern (and the incorrect title) away with a hand. “No, I know. But I need to tell you something, and I can’t unless you put down your stick.”

Nori frowned.

Kelisian lay on the cushion, eyes narrowed at the metal bar in Nori’s hand. Her expression consisted of a combination of concern and boredom.

Sarenee bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. The threat of Nori and her makeshift weapon fell behind the discovery she’d made that morning. Still, she leveled Nori with a glare, urging her to lower the metal bar.

“Will you  _ please _ lower your lightsaber?” Sarenee attempted again.

Nori, satisfied with the request, squatted and placed the bar on the sofa cushion beside Kelisian. Kelisian eyed the pretend saber with a curious expression.

Before any more dueling could break out, Sarenee regained her friends’ attention. “Come here, I can’t say it loudly,” she hissed.

Kelisian and Norephine both flocked to Sarenee. She didn’t speak in that tone often, and they probably recognized the urgency in her voice. 

Sarenee checked the door once more to ensure no one would overhear them. It would be atypical for anyone to be intruding on the space the three Ladies often occupied. Once she was as sure as possible, Sarenee spoke again. “I think something bad is happening,” she whispered anxiously. She clasped her hands to prevent herself from wringing them.

“Is it Anakin?” Nori asked excitedly.

Kelisian elbowed her hard enough that Nori cried out softly. She rubbed her side and pouted. She truly looked her age when she made that face. It was easy to believe that she was the youngest lady in waiting.

Kelisian rolled her eyes. “Come on, I didn’t hit you that hard,” she sighed.

“Hey,” Sarenee snapped, bringing the two back to attention. Both Kelisian and Norephine refocused on their companion, who decided to ask first about Nori’s secret. “What’s wrong with Anakin?” Sarenee asked.

Nori lit up, brown eyes going wide with delight. There was little she loved more than secrets. “He’s sneaking into--” 

“No, you first,” Kelisian interrupted. She glared at Nori once more, pleading with her to keep her mouth shut. There was no true malice in the stare. 

Nori, pouting once again, rubbed her sore ribs and remained quiet.

Sarenee made a mental note to ask Nori about her secret later, but Kelisian was determined to hear Sarenee’s tale first. Sarenee obliged. “I think there are spies here,” she divulged. 

Kelisian laughed, but Sarenee didn’t mimic the humor. She was entirely serious, and Kelisian’s giggles dissipated abruptly.

“You’re serious?” Nori murmured. She stepped even closer, forming a tighter circle with her two companions. “Why would you think that?”

Kelisian nodded. She unconsciously reached up and tugged one of her dark braids. “We’re safe here. Why would there be spies?”

“I heard something I wasn’t supposed to,” Sarenee explained. Her voice was taut with stress. She alternated her focus between Nori and Kelisian, ensuring that both were giving her the attention the subject required. “I didn’t recognize the voice, but I heard what was said. Someone’s feeding Sidious information from inside the Senate.”

Both Norephine and Kelisian gasped. They clung to each other tightly, exchanging a panicked glance.

Their fear validated Sarenee’s own. “I think we need to tell somebody,” she whispered. Her voice trembled. Now that the words were spoken, there was no denying them.

“So we should start a revolution?” Nori asked eagerly.

“No, Nori,” Kelisian whispered. Probably noticing she’d done nothing but deny Nori her excitement for the last hour, Kelisian rubbed Nori’s shoulder to soothe her.

Nori’s scowl lightened at the touch. When she was composed, she once again asked a question. “What do you want to do about it?” Nori asked Sarenee

“We don’t need to tell anyone yet,” Kelisian supplied. She released her hold on Nori and reached for Sarenee instead. “It could be dangerous.”

Sarenee took Kelisian’s hand. Her brows pulled together as she considered her options. She wasn’t accustomed to such catastrophic decisions. The conversation she’d overheard could end reigns, wreck governments. It wasn’t business for a lady-in-waiting.

But, on the other hand, Sarenee’s two companions were the only people she knew she could trust. Even Padme was darkened by Sarenee’s suspicion, as much as she hated to admit it. Padme was the frontrunner. Kelisian, Sarenee, and Norephine were nothing but her less-important support system. The three had grown up together, shared a home from the age of seven. 

It had been over a decade since then. A decade of playing pretend, flirting with whoever they pleased, and being dismissed as pretty faces. Despite their different planets of origin, their different noble titles, the three ladies-in-waiting were sisters. Padme, with her genius and level head, felt more like a favorite cousin.

“I think this mistake could happen again,” Sarenee spoke cautiously. She squeezed Kelisian’s hand anxiously.

Kelisian tilted her head. The rising sun glinted off her flawless complexion and golden-brown hair. “What do you mean?”

“People think we’re stupid,” Norephine pointed out. Her expression twisted with disdain. She looked up at Sarenee. “That’s what you mean, right, Sare?”

Sarenee nodded. Solemnly, she continued forming her plan. “We need to listen and listen well. We’ll gather here and discuss what we’ve discovered. No one dares enter here by night, so it won’t be a problem of confidentiality.”

Nori opened and closed her mouth.

Sarenee narrowed her eyes at her. “What is it?”

Nori pressed her lips into a line. Sarenee couldn’t tell if she was reluctant or overeager until she spoke. 

“Well, we only have half the night,” she said, her lips curling into a smile. 

Kelisian looked just as confused as Sarenee felt. “What are you talking about?” Sarenee asked.

Nori bit her lower lip. “Well, it’s not as cool compared to  _ your _ thing,” she whined.

“What is it, Nori?” Kelisian pressed.

Nori let out a single giggle. She covered her mouth with a hand, regained her composure, and raised her head. “Well, Anakin comes in here every night at about the same time,” she whispered.

“What?!” Kelisian exclaimed.

Now it was Norephine’s turn to elbow Kelisian. “I think he’s been… you know.”

“Deflowered?” Kelisian supplied with a badly suppressed cackle. 

Nori rubbed her temples.

Sarenee couldn’t help her smile, but she shook her head good-naturedly. Although she wasn’t the oldest, she often felt like it. “We talk until Anakin shows up for his good time. Does that work?”

Norephine shrugged a shoulder. “I mean, that sounds all right. Although I don’t think Anakin would tattle if he overheard. He’s a good guy.”

“I know he’s a good guy,” Sarenee agreed. She squeezed Kelisian’s hand a final time and released it. She felt better now that a plan was established. “But we can’t trust anyone, okay?”

Her two companions nodded their agreement.


	2. crazy on you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelisian uncovers a dangerous secret and enlists Norephine's help to formulate a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't bother telling me what's canon. canon is not the boss of me. i do what i want.  
> PRONUNCIATION GUIDE:  
> Ervane Aislandor (AIR-vane EYE-slan-DOOR)  
> Agnamorus Leela (AG-nuh-MORE-us LEE-la)  
> Nelameena Leela (NELL-uh-MEE-nuh LEE-la)  
> Norephine "Nori" Leela (nor-EFF-in-EE "NOR-ee" LEE-la)  
> Nyrane Leela (NEER-uh-NEE LEE-la)  
> Kelisian "Lisia" Qar-Maksis (kuh-LEES-ee-an "LEES-ee-uh" kar-MAX-is)  
> Sarenee "Sare" Slandor (SARR-in-AY "SARR-uh" SLAN-dor)

Kelisian was hesitant to believe in the supernatural. Most mysteries could be solved by asking the right people the right questions. Although Sarenee’s beauty and Norephine’s sweet naivete usually got the answers faster, Kelisian wasn’t at too much of a disadvantage. She’d always been an intuitive person.

Childhood had been strange, indeed, for a girl who sometimes knew the answers to questions that hadn’t been asked yet. She ran through the caverns back home with her footsteps echoing off the rock walls, seeking a hiding place she saw in her mind. Her brother hated that she always won at hide and seek, but Anaxes had even more places to conceal oneself than it did mountains, and Kelisian found nearly all of them.

As an intuitive person, currently feeling bored, Kelisian had decided to do a little covert operation of her own. She’d donned her least noticeable clothing, made of loose silvery material that only glinted in sunlight. In the shadows, it was as good as ghostly. Even her hair had been contained, swept into a simple set of braided ponytails that wouldn’t earn her a second glance.

Kelisian slipped down a back stairwell to the lowest level of the Senate. Her flowing pants made a quiet swish as they brushed past each other with each step. The word in the halls was that the pretty Jedi were returning today. Luckily, they hadn’t been brutally slaughtered quite yet. That would’ve devastated Padme, if Norephine was right.

It had been a while since the girls had slept outside Padme’s room. When Anakin was sent off on whatever mission he’d been assigned, the three ladies in waiting were given permission to go home. It was five months of pretending to be all right with their rapidly changing home planets after years of luxe leisure. They had returned only yesterday morning, and had immediately fallen back into their old ways. Norephine was irritated when Anakin didn’t show at the time she insisted he always did, but it made sense that he hadn’t returned yet. He wasn’t deceiving them.

But as Kelisian crept out to hide behind a pillar, her instincts told her something was brewing. If she was right, it would be trouble. The thought tickled at her mischievous heart. Trouble could be fun, especially after all the time she spent on Anaxes. 

She didn’t dare peek out from behind the column as Anakin’s footsteps grew closer. There was a sound suspiciously similar to kissing. Then, a new voice.

“Oh, Anakin! Thank goodness you’re back!” Padme murmured.

It required all Kelisian’s strength not to laugh. Padme’s voice was all soft and feminine, the voice she never used with her friends or colleagues. Everybody had a flirting tone, but Kelisian had never witnessed Padme use hers.

Anakin’s voice matched Padme’s in its intimacy and sweetness. “I missed you, Padme. I’ve missed you so.”

Kelisian covered her mouth with one hand to suppress any noise. Norephine  _ was _ right. She had to be. There was no other explanation for Padme speaking like a girl in an advertisement on some pleasure planet.

“There were whispers,” Padme started anxiously. Kelisian could imagine her now, wringing her hands, wracked by concern for her super-secret boyfriend.

Padme continued. “That you’d been killed. I’ve been living with unbearable dread.”

Kelisian couldn’t help the guilt that welled up in her gut. She had gone home with reluctance, even a bit of irritation. She hadn’t thought twice about how the skirmishes affected Padme. Knowing now that she’d been worried about a lover all along, Kelisian wished she’d been here, caring for her. That was her job, after all.

Anakin explained some more, kissed Padme again, and Kelisian didn’t dare move. She didn’t dare breathe. It occurred to her that hiding behind a pillar from the most Force-sensitive man alive right now was not her wisest moment. Speaking of the Force, it was way, way out of line for Anakin to be kissing  _ anybody _ , let alone Kelisian’s designated queen.

He would be far beyond angry to discover her hiding, and that wasn’t even broaching the subject of Padme. She could send Kelisian home permanently, and the very thought was enough to make Kelisian want to run for the hills. After five months back on her home planet, she didn’t ever want to return to rule it.

Kelisian hadn’t told anyone about it, not even her brother, but she had her own suspicions about the fate of Anaxes. Her family had never truly rules, not really. Her mother and father had long since moved to one of the faraway leisure zones. There was no war that far out, not yet. Kelisian’s brother had never been the ruling type. Kelisian’s service to Padme for over ten years now had all but alienated her to the people of Anaxes. They hadn’t recognized her upon her return. Even the staff of her old home were strange when they spoke with her.

A door slid open behind Kelisian. She startled, broken from her thoughts, and pressed her back against the cool stone of the pillar. Her heart leapt into her throat. If someone walked past her, it was all over.

“Wait, not here,” Padme whispered. 

Something that sounded like fabric swishing notified Kelisian that the couple was moving away. It was time to get out.

She scurried out from behind the column and back into the nearest enclave. She mentally thanked her past self for wearing soft-soled slippers, because her footsteps were silent. The last thing Kelisian wanted was attention.

The eldest Lady returned to Padme’s chambers as quickly as possible. The discovery she’d made was overwhelming her brain. Anakin was breaking every Jedi rule by making out with Padme, and Kelisian had a hunch that their relationship went far deeper than that. This was a deep-rooted secret.

“Sare,” Kelisian called, pushing into the Ladies’ bedroom. She scanned the room for Sarenee, whose strange wisdom came in handy during crises like this. But the blonde Lady was nowhere to be found. Her bed was empty, bathed in shimmering rose fabric that spilled like molten metal onto the floor.

Kelisian huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She looped the end of one of her braids around her finger and tugged at it, vexed. Sare hadn’t told her she was leaving this afternoon. Kelisian had counted on her presence to discuss her discoveries.

A soft hum drew Kelisian’s attention to the opposite side of the room. The light pooling on the marble didn’t quite reach the bed from which the sound came, but through the shadow Kelisian saw the pastel curls characteristic of Norephine.

The youngest Lady was prone to sleeping her day away, given the chance. She was a morning person, but first, someone had to rouse her. She wouldn’t so easily relinquish her hold on sleep without a wake-up call.

Norephine would have to do.

Kelisian crossed the room and perched on the end of her friend’s bed. Her silk sheets felt like water through Kelisian’s thin pants. Norephine’s entire space felt like a hidden cavern, and her sheets were its mystical water source. Where the sheets folded and creased, a faint glow emanated from the fabric. Kelisian knew Norephine chose the bioluminescent bedspread because she feared the dark, but the secret-lake imagery had not been lost on Kelisian. 

“Norephine,” she crooned sweetly. Norephine’s mood had a direct correlation to how she was roused that morning, and Kelisian needed her patient and thoughtful. She nudged her leg. “Nori, wake up.”

Norephine rolled over. A chunk of powder blue hair caught in her mouth, and Nori coughed. She opened her eyes and blinked at Kelisian. “Wha’ happen?”

Kelisian resisted the urge to laugh at the impression Norephine’s pillow left on her cheek. She looked maimed. “You were right,” Kelisian explained. “About Anakin and Padme. They’re in love like you said.”

Norephine didn’t give Kelisian the reaction she had hoped for. Instead, her brown eyes narrowed. “I didn’t say they were in love, I said they were fu--”

“Not the point,” Kelisian interrupted. She smoothed down Norephine’s hair gently as a sign of goodwill. She wasn’t trying to annoy her just yet-- that was for later.

Norephine stretched. Her back cracked four times, and Kelisian winced at each one.

“My point is that we know something we definitely aren’t supposed to,” Kelisian pointed out. She gazed toward the window, mind running a hundred miles a minute. If Sarenee were here, she’d be reminding Kelisian that no one had seen her. They wouldn’t be caught.

But if someone had seen her, or heard the same conversation she had, then it was more than just Kelisian in danger. She didn’t know a lot about the Jedi Order and its rules, but she was willing to bet they wouldn’t appreciate what Anakin had been up to.

Norephine sat up and rubbed her eyes. She dropped her hand back into her lap. “Yeah, but that isn’t a bad thing. I thought you liked knowing everyone’s secrets.”

“I  _ do _ ,” Kelisian agreed. “I just don’t like knowing things that could hurt people. It’s sort of my job to help keep Padme safe, and I don’t think she’s safe with him.”

Norephine narrowed her eyes. Kelisian knew that look. Nori always thought she knew better than everyone else.

“You don’t think Padme’s safe dating the most powerful Jedi the universe has ever seen?” Norephine clarified, starting to laugh. “Do you have a better idea for a defender?”

Kelisian frowned. “It’s not Anakin who I think might hurt her. It’s everyone who hates him. If anybody else finds out about this, there’s a target on Padme’s back.”

Norephine nodded thoughtfully. She ran a hand through her hair, which was already separating into sections of light blue and blush. The result was a lavender-ish combination that shifted and morphed before Kelisian’s eyes. Norephine tucked her hair behind her ear and asked, “So should we tell her what we know?”

“No,” Kelisian said. “We can’t let her know we know.” Of that she was certain. It was better for Padme to think her secret was safe. In addition, Padme’s obliviousness gave her Ladies the freedom to meddle as they pleased. If Padme knew they had unearthed the secret, then she’d be watching them much more closely, and it would be much harder to evade her.

“We should tell Sarenee, though,” Norephine said.

Kelisian nodded her agreement. They needed Sarenee’s skills with persuasion to be as effective as possible, and there would be no halfway with a secret like this. 

“Do you think…” Norephine said, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “Do you think the Dark Side spies here know?”

Kelisian shook her head vehemently, although she didn’t truly know. The thought was too frightening to dwell on. “They can’t. It’s a well-kept secret, I’ll admit. We didn’t even know for sure until today.”

Norephine pouted slightly. “ _ I  _ did.”

“Stop,” Kelisian dismissed her. 

To keep Norephine from arguing, Kelisian changed the subject. “Speaking of the Dark Side, have you heard from your father lately?”

Sighing, Norephine rolled her eyes. “Agnamorus hasn’t fallen to the Dark Side, Lisia. He’s sick. Don’t you think he’d be stronger, if he were using their power?”

“I’m not convinced,” Kelisian shrugged. She stood from Norephine’s bed and strode across the room. She had grown tired of her sleuthing clothes, and wanted to change into something more typical of her stature. Specifically, her favorite azure gown, made of velvetine fabric that floated like the breeze itself.

Norephine, too, got to her feet. “Nyrane and Nelameena are worried about him, too. They asked me to keep an eye on him when he arrives later.”

“You won’t be the only one,” Kelisian said. “He’s earned my suspicion.”

She had never approved of Agnamorus. The heir to Corellia had done nothing to help it. In fact, from the moment his three daughters were old enough, Agnamorus had torn them from its surface and taken them to join his travels. After Norephine’s appointment as Padme’s third Lady, he had sent his younger daughters home like they meant nothing at all. Kelisian always went out of her way to shower Nyrane and Nelameena with attention whenever they came to visit, knowing what it felt like to be overlooked.

At least it hadn’t gone to Norephine’s head. It would’ve made her unbearable.

“I’m meeting him later, so if you could stop trying to make me irritated with my father, that would be appreciated,” Norephine explained patiently. She wasn’t quick to anger, so Kelisian wasn’t worried about truly getting on her nerves. 

Kelisian heard Norephine walk to her wardrobe and sift through its contents. By the time Kelisian had fastened her new gown and turned around, Norephine was slipping a sheer lavender gown over her head. As it settled onto her shoulders, the hem unfurled to reveal a delicate line of gold ribbon along the bottom of the airy skirt.

“Pretty,” Kelisian said. “That’s new. Where did you get it?”

“My father’s last birthday gift to me,” Norephine explained with a self-deprecating shake of her head. “You know how he loves picking out my clothes for me. It’ll make our meeting a little less unbearable if he thinks I wear this all the time.”

Kelisian scoffed. “You haven’t willingly worn a gown like that since you turned twelve, Nori. It looks nice, but you don’t look like you.”

Norephine shrugged one shoulder with a smile. “I’m just not your everyday Lady,” she said in a self-aggrandizing tone.

“Oh, I’m sure,” Kelisian laughed. She turned to her mirror and fastened a delicate silver necklace around her neck. “Go on, pick your rebellion of the day.”

“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” Norephine said sarcastically, her voice clipped in a parody of the Core Worlds’ accent. As soon as the words were out of Norephine’s mouth, the sound of ripping fabric drew Kelisian’s attention.

Kelisian faced Norephine, who was sliding a blade up the skirt of her gown to tear it open on the leg. Norephine raised her head sharply, like a child caught with her hand in a jar of sweets. 

“What are you doing?” Kelisian asked, bewildered.

Norephine beamed. “Rebelling.” She tore her dress another few inches.

The tablet on the table beeped, and both girls glanced toward it.

“Ervane wants you downstairs,” Norephine giggled, reading the message. She side-eyed Kelisian with no small amount of mischief.

It took all Kelisian’s will not to blush. Ervane was unfairly handsome, but he was far below the class she was expected to marry. Besides, her promise to remain in Padme’s service meant she needed approval to become involved with anyone, and Ervane wasn’t the type to enjoy being briefed by royal security. Kelisian was certain that attempting to embrace the butterflies he sent flying in her stomach would end in disaster and heartbreak.

“Does he, now?” Kelisian said, feigning indifference. She turned back to her wardrobe and brushed nonexistent dust off the sleeve of her gown.

Apparently, she wasn’t presenting a good enough facade. The sound of a message sending drew her attention back to the tablet. Norephine knelt beside the table, her guilty hands still hovering over the screen.

Kelisian’s face heated. “What have you done?” She demanded. She stormed over to the table, her skirt kicking out behind her with each step.

Norephine offered Kelisian the tablet with a snicker. “I’m meddlesome,” she admitted.

Kelisian read the message she’d sent to Ervane-- vaguely flirtatious confirmation that Kelisian would be downstairs in minutes, with Norephine in tow. Kelisian glared at Norephine. “That was not your business.”

Norephine shrugged. “It is now. Besides, how else are we going to spend our day? Waiting around for Sarenee to get back?”

Kelisian didn’t have an answer for her.

Norephine stood up and took Kelisian’s hand. She led her toward the door of their suite. “Come on. I think there might still be some breakfast out in the lounge, if we hurry.”


	3. cherry bomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Norephine's efforts to set up Kelisian and Ervane are interrupted by the arrival of Agnamorus Leela, Norephine's father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're here for quality content you can probably leave now. also pls let me know who ur faves are if u decide to dive into this trash.  
> PRONUNCIATION GUIDE:  
> Agnamorus Leela (AG-nuh-MORE-us LEE-la)  
> Nelameena Leela (NELL-uh-MEE-nuh LEE-la)  
> Norephine "Nori"/"Phine" Leela (nor-EFF-in-EE "NOR-ee"/"FEE-na" LEE-la)  
> Nyrane Leela (NEER-uh-NEE LEE-la)  
> Kelisian "Lisia" Qar-Maksis (kuh-LEESH-in "LEESH-uh" kar-MAX-is)  
> Sarenee "Sare" Slandor (SARR-in-AY "SARR-uh" SLAN-dor)

Norephine followed in Kelisian’s train toward the garage on the first sublevel. She tried to keep a cool head, but she was excited to smell the oil and hot metal. It reminded her of home.

Her skirt had been cut in two straight, vertical lines, one in front of each leg. When she took a step, her knee slipped through the gap. Instead of the shapeless silhouette the dress naturally created, Norephine had tied on an amethyst sash that settled at the slimmest part of her waist. It gave the somewhat matronly dress a fluid, flirtatious appearance.

“I can’t believe you told him we were coming,” Kelisian muttered. She exited the elevator on Sublevel One without waiting for Norephine.

Although she sounded annoyed with Norephine’s interference, Nori knew she wasn’t nearly as irritated as she seemed. She wanted to go see Ervane, she just needed a nudge in his direction. Norephine was more than willing to be that nudge.

“He’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” Norephine pointed out. “Last time, when you didn’t answer him, he cornered me and asked if you hated him.”

Kelisian didn’t bother looking at Norephine. Maybe she really was upset. “I don’t care. You’re going to give him the wrong idea.”

Norephine scoffed as the two girls stepped through the final door into the hangar bay. Grinding metal, the whine of machines, and the scent of fuel filled Norephine’s senses. Ships of every size and shape loomed throughout the chamber, and sunlight leaking in through ceiling vents glinted on their metallic surfaces. Norephine felt a smile tug at her lips. In the back corner, she spied a ship just like the first one she’d ever flown. 

“Nori,” Kelisian called.

Norephine snapped her attention back to Kelisian, who was walking toward Ervane’s segment of the hangar. She scurried after her, ducking beneath a rotating repair platform on her way.

Kelisian stood out like a sapphire in the sand. The patterns embossed into the train of her velvety gown shimmered in the diffused light of the hangar. With her steps, Norephine glimpsed vines of ivy, blooming flowers, swirls of wind bearing leaves aloft. Amongst the mechanics and engineers dressed for comfort, Kelisian wasn’t hard to spot.

Ervane, on the other hand, would’ve been, if the two Ladies didn’t know exactly where they were going. His station was in the far left wing of the hangar. Norephine used to visit a few times every month, just to get her hands dirty. Being a Lady was fun and all, but she missed the freedom she had as a child on Corellia. Her parents’ laissez-faire approach mostly meant Norephine was left to her own devices. She often found herself building ships.

Ervane was facing away as the two girls approached, but Norephine could tell he had changed in the last five months. Last time she’d seen him, his face was clean-shaven, his hair cropped short like a fighter’s. Today, he had scruff on his jawline, and his hair was beginning to wave with how long it was growing. It was a more relaxed version of Ervane than what Norephine had seen before.

“Aislandor,” Norephine called from behind Kelisian. 

Ervane turned around, a smudge of engine grease on his cheekbone. His face lit up when he saw Kelisian. “Lisia!” He called.

Norephine tried not to be annoyed that he overlooked her so quickly. After all, she was the one who spent the most time down here with him. She helped him rebuild fuel cells when she got bored of braiding Padme’s hair. But, as Ervane embraced Kelisian like a lost lover, Norephine remembered that he was prone to being won over by his emotions. It was a secret to no one that Ervane was absolutely enamored with Kelisian.

Kelisian released her hold on Ervane, but his hands lingered on her waist as she pulled away. His smile hadn’t faded at all. “I heard you were summoned back, but you didn’t come say hello, so I thought I’d make the first move.”

Norephine crossed her arms. “We have our own duties, Ervane,” she reminded him solemnly. Her serious tone didn’t last long. A smile cut across her face. “What have you been up to for the last five months?”

“Yeah, how did you occupy your time without us?” Kelisian teased him. She looked over her shoulder and winked at Norephine.

Ervane shrugged and leaned against the outer hull of the ship he was working on. “I got a lot more work done, for starters. Didn’t have Princess Code-Runner poking around.” His blue eyes glinted in Norephine’s direction.

“How did you cope without me?” She countered good-naturedly. Before he could answer, Norephine tilted her head at Kelisian. “She insisted we come down here the minute you contacted us, even though I tried to tell her you weren’t going anywhere.”

“I did  _ not _ ,” Kelisian insisted. She glared at Norephine, but the disapproving glare only made Nori giggle. Kelisian wasn’t intimidating, but it was fun to watch her try to be. 

Ervane was just as intrigued as Norephine hoped. “Did you now?” He inquired, ignoring Kelisian’s denial. He crossed his arms, and even Norephine couldn’t overlook how nice his arms looked. Muscled, but not to the point of discomfort. He looked like he gave good hugs.

In fact, he looked prepared to show his talent with a good hug to Kelisian. She was pretending not to notice him staring at her with those princely blue eyes. It was truly a shame that he wasn’t high-born, because Norephine had never met anyone better suited to Kelisian. Ervane weathered her whims fearlessly.

Norephine’s wrist tingled. She turned her hand over to be palm up, and a message from her father launched from her implant. He had just arrived upstairs.

“Pardon me,” Norephine said. 

Kelisian and Ervane looked in her direction, and Norephine couldn’t help but notice the slight pink shade to Kelisian’s cheeks. A giggle nearly burst free from Norephine’s lips. Her ploy to set them up together would succeed one day, she was sure of it.

She continued her goodbye. “I hate to abandon you two together, but my father’s just arrived. I have to meet him.”

Ervane nodded respectfully, smiling slightly at Norephine’s formal tone. “Be on your way, Princess. I’ll have to deal with Kelisian myself, unfortunately.”

Kelisian rolled her eyes and settled her weight on one hip. Her voice was likely supposed to sound confident, but Norephine detected her teasing ways beneath the challenge. “I’m a princess too, you cad. You’re the one who called me to join you down here. If you don’t want me, I can just as easily return to my actual duties.”

“No,” Ervane said quickly. “No, I don’t want that.”

Kelisian’s brows went halfway up her forehead. She looked at Norephine in surprise.

Norephine knew it was time to leave. “Have fun, kids,” she quipped. She backed away from them a few steps.

While Ervane turned away, closing his toolbox, Kelisian stared daggers at Norephine. Norephine could practically hear her swearing in her mind, but it did not slow Nori’s departure from the hangar.

She turned around to face the direction she was walking in. Her father did not appreciate it when she was late. Norephine’s steps were hurried as she found the lift to the arrival floor and made her way to where he’d arrived.

Agnamorus Leela was a charismatic man, loved by many, but none so much as himself. Very little in his life pleased him as much as being adored, but the attention of his eldest daughter came as a close second. Norephine knew Agnamorus loved her more than his other children, but his neglect did not inflict too much of a punishment. Nyrane and Nelameena bore no love toward their father, either.

When he’d fallen ill, a degenerative illness taking its toll on his strength, only Norephine had come to his aid. He resented his other daughters for ignoring him, but Norephine didn’t blame them. He had never shown them the care he expected.

The moment Norephine stepped into her father’s eyeline, he lit up. He was in a hovering chair, so his leg strength must have been more sapped than usual today. Agnamorus held out his arms, beckoning Norephine to come hug him. She smiled in return and hurried toward him. She had to bend to hug him. 

He wrapped his arms around her, flooding her nose with his cologne. Norephine felt a tickle in her sinuses and discreetly pinched her nose shut, hoping she wouldn’t sneeze. Her father insisted this was the only scent worth wearing, and she wouldn’t want to offend him. Not when he was doubtlessly in pain. 

“There’s my Phine,” he said, releasing his hold. “I’ve missed you.”

Norephine stood up once again. She kept pace with his chair as it reumed moving forward. “You saw me less than a cycle ago, Father,” she laughed. “I don’t know how much ‘missing’ is possible in that short a time.”

Agnamorus shook his head, wonder in his eyes. “You’ve grown into such a witty young lady. I have to wonder where you got that.”

The father and daughter traveled together across the entry hall to the elevator. Two of Agnamorus’ guards accompanied them, lingering ten feet behind. 

Norephine had to walk uncomfortably quickly to keep pace with Agnamorus. His hoverchair moved just slightly faster than she did, but Agnamorus probably didn’t notice. She concealed her exertion, although it was hard to breathe slowly by the time they reached the elevator.

“How are Sarenee and Karlisa?” He asked.

He mispronounced Kelisian’s name. Norephine didn’t bother correcting him. It would only sour his mood, and she hoped to keep him in a good one for the duration of his stay at the Senate. If he ran into Kelisian, and Norephine hoped he wouldn’t, then she could correct him herself. Norephine would do her best to avoid that situation. Kelisian wasn’t known for her politeness in the face of people like Agnamorus, who had infamously called the Qar-Maksis clan a family built on blood money.

“They’re both doing wonderfully,” Norephine replied. She stepped into the elevator at her father’s side. The chair’s nearly-imperceptible hum reminded her of her childhood, fiddling with the rejected versions that he tossed out. They kept her hands busy before she learned how to sneak out to the shipyards.

The elevator ascended rapidly, giving Norephine a faint headrush. “What brings you here, Father? You never really told me.”

Agnamorus squeezed Norephine’s wrist. “Can’t I visit my eldest child?” he joked. “The Corellian representatives have news they claim is too sensitive to send to me. I was in the neighborhood, so I decided to stop by and get to the bottom of this business myself.”

Sarenee had warned her of spies. Maybe that was what the Corellian representatives had uncovered, as well, and they needed to tell Agnamorus. Norephine’s expression clouded in concern. If it wasn’t just Sarenee who had discovered the secret, then the spies were either incompetent or in higher numbers than Norephine had assumed. It was probably the latter.

“What’s wrong?” Agnamorus asked, releasing Norephine’s wrist. He slowed his hoverchair. “You look worried.”

Norephine cursed her over-expressive face. She turned back to face her father, who she’d walked beyond when he stopped. “It’s the skirmishes,” she explained weakly. “They scare me.”

Agnamorus inclined his head, not convinced by Norephine’s excuse. “No, Phine, tell me the truth,” he commanded. His dark eyes bored into Norephine. She found herself unable to tear her gaze away from his. Her stomach sank.

When she was little, Norephine was prone to lying. Nothing that would hurt anyone, but she often stole sweets from the kitchens and snuck them to her sisters upstairs. Sometimes, she would get caught, and it was always Agnamorus who enacted the discipline. Before a certain age, she’d assumed he was just excellent at compelling the truth out of her. Now, Norephine knew he was using the Force.

Agnamorus had never expressly told Norephine that he was Force-sensitive, but she wasn’t stupid. Agnamorus could balance chairs on one leg to amaze Nyrane. Bedroom doors would slam without anyone near them, likely Agnamorus’ method of frightening Nelameena when she stayed up too late. And for Norephine, his favorite, nothing in her mind was private.

“I think there’s spies here,” she blurted. Her cheeks flamed, wishing she could tear the words out of the air. Sarenee would kill her if she knew Nori had told anyone that. Guilt welled up in Norephine’s stomach like she’d eaten too much at a banquet.

But Agnamorus had been breaking into Norephine’s head her whole life. She wondered if he’d built an invisible door for himself in her brain. Despite the fact that his mind-meddling was nothing new, Norephine still found herself upset when it happened. She knew she should’ve been used to it, but something in her still insisted that it was wrong. Norephine’s brain was the only thing that truly belonged to her.

Agnamorus, on the other hand, was pleased. He smiled, despite the negative information he’d rooted up from Norephine’s mind. “Thank you, darling,” he crooned. He spoke in the same voice he’d used since she was too small to climb onto his chair.

Norephine tried to wipe the irritation from her expression. She walked in the direction of the Corellian representatives’ office to conceal her face. “Are you sure you’re safe here?” Norephine asked her father.

Agnamorus hovered a foot or so behind her. “Is that why you didn’t tell me the truth?” He inquired. The confidence in his voice alerted Norephine to the fact that he thought he was right. The two guards avoided Norephine’s eyes.

“Yes,” she lied. She straightened her sash. “I didn’t want to say anything in case I was wrong. But if it’s dangerous, I don’t want you here.”

“It’s not dangerous,” Agnamorus assured her. His voice was steeped in certainty, but it somehow failed to calm Norephine’s nerves.

The door to the representatives’ office appeared around the curved hallway. Norephine felt the knot of anxiety in the pit of her stomach start to unwind at the sight. While she loved her father dearly, she didn’t want to divulge any more of her thoughts to him today. He couldn’t pry her mind open from across the Senate.

Norephine turned back to face her father, a smile on her lips. “I’m sorry for lying,” she said, hands entwined with each other. “You know how I am.”

Agnamorus nodded, an amused smile on his face. “Yes, I do. You still shouldn’t lie, Phine.” His sharp gaze remained locked on her, and Norephine took care not to linger too long on his eyes. Agnamorus pointed at her legs. “And what’s happened to your skirt?”

Norephine mentally kicked herself for her moment of bravery that led her to slitting the skirt open. While it wasn’t scandalous by anyone’s terms, Agnamorus was averse to anything that made Norephine seem mature. She stared at her feet. “Kelisian did it,” she said, knowing full well Kelisian wouldn’t mind being blamed.

Agnamorus huffed. “That girl is nothing but trouble.”

Norephine, Agnamorus, and the two guards reached the representatives’ office. One of the guards entered the door code while Norephine made her farewells.

“I need to meet with Padme,” she explained, taking a step back from her father. “Let me know when your meeting is over, so I can see you again.”

Agnamorus smiled his approval. “Of course, Phine,” he said. “And don’t worry about danger. There’s no spies here. You’re perfectly safe.”

Norephine grinned. “Thank you, Father.”

She turned and scurried away down the hallway before he could speak again. Her smile melted with each foot she put between herself and Agnamorus. “Phine,” she spat, accentuating the two syllables with vitriol. It was her least-favorite nickname, and it wasn’t even accurate. “Fee-nuh,” Norephine repeated in an angry whisper. Even if someone wanted to make a nickname out of the last two syllables of ‘Norephine’, it would be ‘fin-ee’, not ‘fee-nuh’. Agnamorus had never cared. Norephine had been named after her mother’s aunt, after all.

Norephine’s rapid steps were interrupted by a collision. The floor tremored so badly that she fell to her knees, the cold ground bruising her through her dress.

Alarms started to blare from all around Norephine. Doors swung open. Important people started to shout.

She got to her feet and made a break for the Ladies’ chambers. They were nearly impenetrable during an attack, at Padme’s insistence. Agnamorus might’ve spoken too soon when he promised Norephine’s safety.


	4. take on me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarenee pulls the power card, but she'll need more than her bloodline to conquer the new danger in the Senate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized Sarenee, Kelisian, and Norephine are just Donna and the Dynamos except in space, so that's great. If you don't know the core three's names by now I don't know what to tell you.  
> PRONUNCIATION GUIDE:  
> Noeren (no-AIR-in)  
> Delorna (dee-LORE-nuh)

Naeren Dulein was a bad kisser, but Sarenee was willing to tolerate it for the sake of boredom. Padme had asked her to accompany her to her meetings today, which Sarenee had been glad to do. However, the other Senators didn’t enjoy being intruded upon by, in their words, ‘a useless handmaiden’. Padme had apologized profusely to Sarenee, but asked her to leave. 

All day, Sarenee had found herself wallowing in boredom outside the meetings where Padme did important things. Everyone who mattered was inside the boardrooms, discussing policy and law, while Sarenee counted how many Alderaanian anthems she still had memorized. The answer, so far, was eighteen.

And then Naeren showed up, and Sarenee found an adequate distraction.

She noted he didn’t really know what to do with his hands. They fluttered between her shoulders, waist, and hair, almost distracting Sarenee from his total lack of oral finesse. He kissed like he was searching for something in her mouth. The initial fascination of a pretty boy to tangle with had burned away, leaving only boredom in its wake.

Sarenee broke away from him. He leaned in even still, attempting to continue the kiss, but Sarenee made sure it wouldn’t work. She kept her hands on his shoulders to maintain his distance. “Naeren, I need to go,” she said, shrugging.

Naeren shook his head. A wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows. “No, just a little longer,” he pleaded.

Naeren was from Alderaan, although Sarenee had never met him prior to his arrival at the Senate. He was some kind of hybrid-human, but Sarenee thought it might be rude to ask what, exactly, his species was. His eyes were an odd shade of yellow-orange that stood out against his complexion. Sarenee hadn’t ever seen a human who looked like him.

But she had met quite a few who had acted similar.

“I’m leaving,” she insisted. “I have duties.”

That, of course, was a lie. Sarenee had nothing to do with her day other than keep Padme from growing lonely. Since the other Senators were intent on preventing Sarenee from doing that, she had no responsibilities left. 

Naeren scoffed and stepped out of the alcove. “Whatever. Typical of a High Lady,” he muttered. He wiped his sleeve across his mouth and strode off down the hallway.

Sarenee exited the hidden place in the hallway where she’d pulled Naeren. It kept them out of plain sight, though a few passing droids had probably taken note of them. 

“Hey!” Sarenee called after him. “I’m a Duchess, not a High Lady.”

Naeren didn’t turn around. “This is me not caring,” he said dismissively. His footsteps did not slow. “That just means your family has power and you got lucky being born who you are.”

Anger flared in Sarenee’s chest. She would not be condescended to by some Alderaanian prick with an exploratory tongue. 

“You’re right about one thing.” Sarenee leaned into her hip and crossed her arms. “I’m sure the Slandors would be glad to hear about how little respect you have for them.”

Naeren’s footsteps halted. He turned on a dime, but his expression didn’t hold the respect Sarenee was aiming for. “You’re no Slandor,” he sneered. 

Sarenee didn’t know how to respond.

Taking her silence as submission, Naeren laughed. “You really shouldn’t lie about that kind of heritage. Delorna Slandor would have you killed for it.”

Sarenee’s mother would have something to say about an impersonator, for sure, but she’d be even more enraged at disrespect like Naeren’s. He hadn’t even used her full title. Sarenee hadn’t seen Delorna in over a year, and the graceless way Naeren said her name made Sarenee ready to scream.

Instead, she sang.

It was the song of the Slandor house. Everyone knew the melody, but only the family members could sing it. The words of the song were practically ingrained into Sarenee’s genes. 

Her green eyes locked on Naeren, the lyrics came loose like spitting poison. She watched his eyes go wide with shock as he realized her words were true. She was a Slandor, after all.

“I’m so sorry, Sarenee,” he said, still trying to maintain a facade of bravery.

Sarenee built her answer into the song. It was considered sacrilege not to finish it, and she had never failed to do so before. “Say my name,” she crooned.

“Sarenee Slandor,” Naeren said sheepishly.

Sarenee gritted her teeth with irritation. The sound of the song fell flat, but did not stop. She completed the last line and took a step towards Naeren. “Call me by my full title, or you’ll never leave this Senate on your own two legs.”

His face fell. His arms dropped to his sides like a puppet with no one pulling his strings.

“Say it!” Sarenee shouted, pointing a finger at him.

Naeren reacted as if she’d pushed him. His face went white with fear and confusion. “Her Sunlit Duchess Sarenee of the Noble House Slandor,” Naeren said reverently, despite his trembling voice. He bowed so low that his nose touched his knee. “Counter-Princess of the West, Lady of Dawn and Sacred Melody.”

Sarenee hadn’t been addressed by her full title in a long time, but it was pleasant to hear the tremor in Naeren’s tone. The title was the highest given to any Duchess, granting her powers even greater than Delorna’s. As Padme’s Lady, Sarenee had suspended her own power, but she would receive it again if she ever left.

She could kill him and face no punishment, but she really liked this dress, and she didn’t want to go through the dramatics of excusing herself. It was a nice day out.

“Leave,” she commanded.

Naeren stood and left without another word. He walked like a droid. 

Sarenee frowned as he departed. She could understand if he was angry, but that was an odd reaction. If Naeren was angry at being pushed aside, that was nothing new, but she had never seen anyone rage so quietly..

She insulted him under her breath. Angry or not, he was a bad kisser who’d wasted her last hour with disrespect and bad kissing. She needed something sweet, and someone to complain about Naeren to. If she hurried back to the Ladies’ suite, she could catch Norephine and Kelisian before they left for lunch.

Before she got the chance to walk there, the ground tremored. The lights above faded from a pleasant white to angry red, pulsing in time to a blaring alarm. The locks on every meeting-room door automatically clicked shut, while the wide entry doors at the end of the hallway opened wide. Guards swarmed out of opposite ends of the hallway, running toward the far end of the building. 

Sarenee pulled up the front of her skirt and scurried out of the way. The sound of stomping boots made her pulse race. Something was going very wrong.

Her implant pinged. She turned her palm up, where a message from Norephine beckoned her upstairs.

Sarenee knew where her friend was without having to read the rest of the message. Norephine had a knack for finding hiding places, and Sarenee knew about half of them. The rest were secrets Norephine guarded with an almost comical level of devotion.

Sarenee continued to hold her skirt out of her way and hurried up the nearest staircase. She hoped Noeren had been caught by the guards and inconvenienced. The most annoying thing a boy could do was act let down in any way by something Sarenee did. He didn’t even thank her for the kisses.

Upon arrival to the Ladies’ suite, Sarenee noticed Norephine’s wardrobe had been pushed out of its normal location. Behind it was a door-sized hole in the wall, lazily covered by a slab of lightweight metal to block out any draft. It leaned against the inside of the passageway, not doing its job.

Before she went through the tunnel, Sarenee huffed reluctantly. She leaned over and reached under her skirt. Hanging against her thigh beneath the swaths of blush-pink fabric was a cord of golden ribbon.

Sarenee took hold of it and stood back up. Her skirt bunched up at her wrist, exposing all of her left leg. Sarenee tied the gold ribbon to her waistband, securing her skirt out of her way, and stepped into the hidden hall.

“Nori?” She called into the half-dark. 

After a moment of quiet, Norephine called back, “I’m at the top of the ladder.”

Sarenee was glad she tied up her skirt. She walked a few feet down the hall, where a tall ladder stretched up through the darkness. 

Sarenee craned her neck up. At the top of the ladder, a violet-lit space cast a faint glow down into the shadowed hall. She heard fabric rip, followed by a soft swear. Norephine was definitely up there.

Sarenee ascended the ladder, careful not to let the back of her skirt get caught under her feet. She pulled herself up through the open trapdoor and joined Norephine, who was on all fours and peering out one of the windows.

The hiding place was a forgotten room at the top of a pillar. The Senate had been built for functionality, but had added plenty of bells and whistles to appear beautiful as well. However, no one had use for a four-foot-high circular room at the top of one of the iridescent towers that characterized the Senate. Below them was an elevator shaft, but there was no floor this high up. The light filtering through the blue ceiling and reflecting off the rosy floor made the whole space a twilight-colored hideaway.

“Does that ship look familiar?” Norephine asked. She scooted away from the window to allow Sarenee the space to look out. 

The ship was narrower at the front than the back, silver-white with blue windows. Though at first Sarenee didn’t recognize it from anywhere, she briefly recalled Norephine showing her the first ship she’d ever built. It looked very similar to the one that had crashed into the side of the Senate and was currently blowing black-and-blue smoke into the sky.

“Oh, no,” Sarenee whispered. She looked over her shoulder at Norephine. “Is that why the alarms went off?”

Norephine shrugged. “I guess so. I can’t think of anything else that would put us on lockdown like this.”

The ship creaked. It engine’s weight pulled it down, drooping low out of the side of the Senate. Fire 

“It’s going to fall,” Norephine whispered in horror.

Sarenee rolled her eyes. She sat on her hip and looked back at Norephine. “You’re so attached to your ships.”

Norephine rolled her eyes. “I won’t deny that, but there have to be people on that ship. It’s not made for attack, so they’re not soldiers.”

“Unless they have a new strategy,” Sarenee pointed out. “They would know we won’t fire on a civilian ship until it’s too late. We could be under attack.”

A high-pitched sound pierced Sarenee’s mind. She gasped and put a hand to the side of her head, unsure if there was pain associated with the sound. When the shock faded, she realized it only hurt a little. The more she listened, the less it hurt.

The more she listened, the more swear words she picked up on.

Norephine’s hands were pressed over her ears. It didn’t appear to be blocking out the sound effectively, because she was still grimacing in agony. Sarenee reached toward her and offered a hand in support, which Norephine quickly took.

“What is that?” Norephine asked, her eyes full of confusion and pain.

Sarenee couldn’t tell if the sound was louder to Norephine or if she was simply more sensitive to it. Either way, the words in Sarenee’s head weren’t overly loud. They were, however, terrified.

_ I don’t want to die like this. _

Sarenee and Norephine looked at each other in horror. 

“Kelisian,” they said simultaneously.

It was their friend’s voice being broadcast into their heads. Kelisian was scared, wherever she was.

Sarenee looked out the small window again. Maybe the shipwreck had trapped Kelisian somewhere. Sarenee studied the wreckage. The portion of the building the ship had crashed into wasn’t somewhere Kelisian frequented.

“Where is she?” Sarenee whispered, skimming the rest of the building for outside wreckage.

Norephine gasped. “Oh, no,” she whispered.

“What?” Sarenee asked. “Did she say something?”

Norephine crawled forward to the window. It was barely wide enough to fit her and Sarenee together, but there was no time for personal space when Kelisian was in danger. Norephine studied the ship once again and lifted a hand to her mouth. “Oh, that’s bad.”

“What?” Sarenee demanded again. She hated it when Norephine reacted to things without explaining them. She had a bad habit of assuming everyone around her was on her wavelength.

Norephine scooted toward the trapdoor. “Kelisian’s on that ship,” she said. She swung her legs down onto the ladder rungs. 

Sarenee’s jaw dropped. “No, she can’t be,” she insisted. She turned toward the window again, like she’d be able to see Kelisian screaming in the window of the ship. 

“She is,” Norephine replied. “We have to go help her.”

“How did she get there?” Sarenee asked, heart racing. She had no idea how she’d be able to save Kelisian, let alone Norephine. They had no power over a ship wrecking.

Norephine huffed out a breath of air. A powder-blue segment of hair blew out of her eyes. “It’s a long story,” she muttered. She descended the ladder. “It involves Ervane,” Norephine added, her voice echoing up through the dark.

Sarenee hurried after her, swinging her legs onto the ladder. In her opinion, Ervane had never brought anything to Kelisian’s life but danger. If he’d gotten her on that ship, Sarenee would have his head. “Well, now I’m intrigued. Explain, Nori.”

“I will while I’m changing,” Norephine replied. Her footsteps echoed up as she reached the bottom of the ladder. “I ripped this stupid skirt while I was running.”

“You don’t have time to change,” Sarenee argued. She reached the floor and hurried after Norephine into the bedroom. “We’re in a crisis!”

By the time Sarenee stepped through the doorway into the suite, Norephine had already put on a different gown. Sarenee regarded her in awe. Gone was Norephine’s dress she got from her father, replaced by a more fluid piece she’d bought with Sarenee during the holiday. It looked better on her. The one Agnamorus gave her didn’t do anything for her, anyway.

“Like I always tell Padme,” Norephine said, slipping on her shoes. She looked up at Sarenee with a smirk. “You always have time to change.”


	5. one way or another

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelisian's efforts to reconnect with an old flame result in a different spark entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for things to happen, finally, in chapter five.

The explanation of how Kelisian found herself in the passenger seat of Ervane’s repaired ship would take too long to recount. What mattered was that she was no longer in that passenger seat, and she was fearing for her life.

“You said it was safe!” She cried, smacking Ervane’s shoulder.

Ervane was grinning. It was like he enjoyed endangering his own life along with hers. “No, I said this would be fun.” He gestured to the ship’s cockpit, currently on fire. “Did I lie to you?”

Kelisian looked toward the tail of the ship. It had been blown off when the weapons system crashed, causing the ship to go into a tailspin and, eventually, hit the Senate itself. Now, all that was visible outside the back of the craft was the endless drop to the planet’s surface below. It was far enough to kill her if she fell.

That wasn’t the only reason she was clinging to Ervane for dear life, but it was a good enough excuse. His arm holding her against him was pretty nice, even if her life hung in the balance.

The ship lurched, threatening to fall. Kelisian shrieked and tightened her hold on Ervane.

He responded by adjusting his arm around her waist to better secure her. 

Kelisian wondered if she was really going to die like this. A drop to her death in flames wouldn’t be her favorite way to go out. 

“We need to jump.”

Kelisian whipped her head to Ervane. “What?!”

He looked her in the eyes and nodded fervently. “We have to jump. There’s fuel tanks near the fire. We’re gonna explode if we don’t get off this ship.”

The floor fell down another ten feet, and Kelisian screamed. She buried her face in Ervane’s vest, smelling of engine grease and something like the woods on Anaxes. Like home, but better.

“Hold on tight,” Ervane said. He secured a backpack on his shoulders and tightened the straps. “We’re getting out of here in one piece, Princess. I promise.” 

The certainty in his voice gave Kelisian hope that, just maybe, he knew what he was doing. 

And then he ripped the strap of his backpack off.

Ervane looked between the frayed strap and Kelisian. “Do you know how to parachute?” He asked urgently.

Kelisian just shook her head. “No. We aren’t jumping. We are not doing this.”

“We’re surviving,” Ervane said. He sounded a lot more sure than Kelisian felt.

Kelisian looked up at Ervane. He never seemed this much taller than her when they were flirting in the workshop, but pressed against him from chest to ankle, it was clear that he had almost a foot on her in height. 

“How are we gonna do that?” She asked.

An explosion tore through the front of the ship, coming threateningly close to Ervane. The heat pushed against Kelisian’s cheeks like a harsh reminder of her impending doom. 

Ervane gritted his teeth. A muscle in his jaw tightened. “Hold on tight, Lisia.”

Kelisian tightened her grip on him. She pressed herself against him, burying her face in his neck. She closed her eyes, hoping she was wrong to guess what was coming next.

Ervane put his hands under Kelisian’s thighs and lifted her, anchoring her legs around his waist. He kicked off the wall and ran down the sharp slope of the ship floor. It was such a stark incline that his motion was more like guided falling than actual running.

He leapt into the air at the end of the ship, Kelisian holding tight to him. They fell faster than Kelisian knew how to process. She wasn’t sure if she was glad she couldn’t see the ground, or if the sensation of watching the ship’s wreckage grow farther away by the heartbeat was worse. Her only comfort was holding onto Ervane like her life depended on it.

It literally did.

Ervane took hold of the straps of the backpack and pulled. A brilliant blue parachute erupted from his backpack and launched into the air above Kelisian. Her relief only lasted a moment before the ship gave a final creak and exploded. The heat of the blow reached Kelisian and Ervane, plummeting through the air faster than Kelisian could even process. 

The parachute ripped them upward. The force of the reversed direction nearly ripped Kelisian out of Ervane’s arms, and she screamed again. Her legs broke loose from around Ervane’s hips and flew back, ripped down by gravity. Her arms struggled to keep her anchored onto his neck.

“No, no, no,” Ervane whispered, his breath against her ear just as powerful as the explosion above. He held her tightly by her waist. His grip was so strong that Kelisian managed to pull her legs up and wrap them around him again.

They drifted toward the ground at a rate Kelisian couldn’t accurately measure. The Senate building grew further and further away by the moment. 

Kelisian pulled her face away from Ervane’s shoulder to study him. His teeth were still gritted with focus. He was right-- he wasn’t going to die today.

His grip on her waist told her that he wouldn’t let her die, either.

Even falling through the smoke-scented air, Kelisian felt a bit of comfort knowing that.

“Hold tight,” Ervane warned her, breath warm against her ear.

Moments later, they reached the ground. The landing was graceless, and Ervane’s full weight crashed down on top of Kelisian. She cried out in discomfort as his elbow pressed hard into her ribs.

“Sorry about that,” Ervane chuckled. He lifted his head to look at Kelisian, lips quirked up into a smirk. 

She realized, her cheeks turning pink, that he was laying on top of her.

And then the first piece of ship wreckage smashed into the dirt not ten feet away from them both, and Kelisian realized she didn’t have time for blushing. 

She pushed Ervane off of her and crawled onto her knees. Her skirt was certainly ruined, but she’d mourn it later, if she survived. 

Kelisian almost didn’t want to look up. That would make the debris hurtling down at her from the flaming wreckage real.

But she lifted her eyes from the dirt, despite the fear threatening to suffocate her. The massive shreds of metal falling down toward her were no less terrifying than she expected them to be, and her heart briefly leapt into her throat at the sight. She thought falling to her death from an exploding spaceship would be the worst end she’d face today, but being crushed by melting iron wasn’t preferable, either.

There was no time to run. The shreds of metal grew larger and larger in Kelisian’s field of vision as they rocketed down at her, pulled by the immense force of gravity.

Ervane must have looked up, too, because he swore quietly.

“I’m sorry I left you,” he said quickly, voice trembling. It was a dying confession.

Kelisian couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know how to answer him. Before the summer, before Padme sent her and Sarenee and Norephine home, Kelisian had spent all her days with Ervane. Padme had given her blessing of marriage, despite Kelisian’s arguments that she could never marry Ervane. He was a no one, just a mechanic from Corellia, and she was a princess. Her parents would be disappointed. The entire purpose of sending her away to be a Lady was to increase their stature, and marrying a Corellian scoundrel wouldn’t do well to achieve that.

All the same, Norephine had guided Kelisian to a few select hiding places, and Sarenee had lied to cover her tracks. With their help, Kelisian and Ervane spent far more than just their days together. Padme never once treated him with disrespect, despite his lower status. He knew his way into and out of the Ladies’ suite with his eyes shut. It was a spring full of laughter and light deception. 

She never should have told him she loved him. The moment she spoke the words, he floundered. He didn’t say them back. Even after they parted ways for the night, he didn’t come see her again. It was like Ervane had been scared away.

Sarenee and Norephine didn’t know what to do. As similar as the three girls were, they pursued love in such different ways. Sarenee’s revolving door of increasingly flawless boyfriends and Norephine’s perpetual solitude were handy in terms of overlap. They never pulled from the same pool. Unfortunately, that also meant they didn’t know what to do in the aftermath of Ervane and Kelisian’s non-breakup.

She left for Anaxes without telling him goodbye.

“I’m sorry, Lisia,” Ervane whispered. He wasn’t laughing anymore.

Kelisian set her jaw and stared up at the falling debris. It would most certainly crush her, and there would be no hope of survival.

Something unseen sang in her blood at the very thought of death like this, having justice at last in her final moments. That wasn’t right. That wasn’t how she ended.

Like the dreams she used to have on Anaxes, Kelisian stood up and flung her hands to the sky. It was her favorite pastime as a child to pretend she could move cave rocks, form her own hiding places in the games she played with her brother.

But this time, there was no game. There was simply the scalding metal that loomed so close above Kelisian’s head that, with her arms stretched up, her fingertips touched the remnants of the spacecraft. The heat blazed down her arms, sizzling across her skin.

Nothing crushed her. Instead, Kelisian felt as if gravity’s pull had increased upon her shoulders. As the planet pulled her down to her knees, the ship metal above her slowed to a stop in its descent. The shards of spaceship hovered above the planet’s surface like time had stopped, but flame still ate upon the flammable scraps. Wind still blew around Kelisian’s face, whipping her dark hair against her cheeks.

As soon as she realized that the world had all but stopped its motion, the toll of halting time made itself clear. The ground beneath Kelisian’s feet tilted, swayed, and ultimately gave way. She fell to her knees. Along with her fall, the wreckage also dropped another few feet through the air.

“Kelisian,” Ervame whispered in awe. “What are you doing?”

She couldn’t answer him. Breaking her concentration would, without a doubt, snap whatever cords Kelisian had used to suspend the falling metal. Her head swam. She was so dizzy that she could barely stand to keep her eyes open.

Kelisian clenched her fists. Although there was nothing in her hands, she felt iron in her palms. She flung it hard, away from her. Away from Ervane.

The heat evaporated. There was a massive crunch of metal, almost deafening, but Kelisian’s eyes were already closing. She didn’t see the source of the sound.

“Lisia?” Ervane called to her. His voice was desperate, but muted. He sounded like he was speaking to her from above water. 

Kelisian felt like she was sinking. Ervane’s voice grew further and further away.

*

She couldn’t stop crying.

The sobs that wracked her chest wouldn’t be stopped by any logic or reason, and all she could do was weather them as best she could. She was sunk down into the corner of a dark room, arms around her knees, bawling like a child.

As the tears subsided at long last, Kelisian realized she wasn’t in a dark room. She was sitting against the wall of a ship, adrift through the stars. The only light in the vessel came from the stars outside the front window.

Silhouetted against the sky, the wing of a deep blue galaxy slashing through the dark, Sarenee approached Kelisian. The front of her gown had been slashed open, leaving her bruised knees exposed to the world.

She stopped in front of Kelisian and extended a hand. “Get up,” she said. Her voice was tight from crying, although she’d composed herself a little faster than Kelisian had.

Kelisian lifted her head. She blinked away tears to better see her friend.

Sarenee’s distinctive golden waves no longer flowed free over her shoulders. Her eyes had the terrible numbness of someone who had seen too much. 

Norephine was nowhere in sight.

“We don’t have time to cry,” Sarenee said calmly. She was keeping it together as well as she knew how. “It’s time to fight.”

*

Someone was braiding Kelisian’s hair.

“What did he say?”

A pause. The hands in Kelisian’s hair paused their motion.

“She stopped it from falling on them. They should’ve died.”

“How did she do that?”

That was Norephine. Kelisian’s eyelids twitched. The other voice had to be--

“I don’t know,” Sarenee admitted, her voice taut with frustration. She wasn’t good at not having the answers. 

When Kelisian opened her eyes, she recognized the expression of irritation on Sarenee’s face. She was stumped. The answers weren’t falling into her lap as easily as she wanted them to.

Kelisian was in her own bed. Sarenee was sitting at her side, braiding her hair anxiously. Norephine leaned against the bedpost, barely in Kelisian’s eyesight. She wasn’t wearing the outfit her father bought her anymore.

Kelisian swallowed with difficulty. Her mouth tasted like blood. “So I didn’t die?”

Sarenee whipped her attention back to Kelisian so rapidly that her hair fanned out behind her. Her green eyes were wide with surprise. “You’re awake!”

Norephine sat on the end of the bed, leaning over Kelisian’s legs. “You didn’t die. You just shook up our day a little.”

Kelisian didn’t respond to that. Instead, she focused on Sarenee. “How did I get here?” She asked, trying again to swallow. Her mouth was bone-dry.

“Ervane brought you,” Sarenee explained gently. “He said he got you out of the wreckage before any of the guards could catch up to you.”

“It’s really lucky that he knows all the back ways up here,” Norephine added.

Sarenee glared at her briefly before turning her attention back to Kelisian. She stroked her thumb over the back of her hand soothingly. “You had a seriously nasty nosebleed, but you’re just fine other than that. Are you feeling all right?”

That explained the taste of blood. Kelisian wrinkled her nose, trying to bring feeling back to her face. The sun was too low in the sky. “I’m okay,” Kelisian confirmed. “I don’t know what happened to me.”

Sarenee and Norephine exchanged a meaningful look.

“Neither do we,” Sarenee said, which would have been a convincing lie if Norephine hadn’t made a face.

Kelisian narrowed her eyes at them. “Tell me,” she insisted. 

Sarenee bit her lip and avoided Kelisian’s eyes.

Norephine, on the other hand, practically jumped at the chance. “You guys are totally Force sensitive,” she proclaimed. She was both excited and certain, and neither was warranted by her situation.

“Nori!” Sarenee hissed in disapproval.

Kelisian’s eyes widened. “No way.”

And yet, she had no other explanation for what happened. She made a spaceship move. She made objects fly through the air without even touching them. Something was changing, and Kelisian had no other explanation for it. Nothing better than Norephine’s theory, anyway.

Sarenee, on the other hand, was not convinced. “No, we’re not Force sensitive,” she reminded Norephine forcefully. “Kelisian was lucky, and I’m just convincing.”

Norephine mimicked her voice. “‘I’m just convincing’. Yeah, of course, we all sing to boys so flawlessly that they do anything we say,” she retorted. “I’ve known you guys almost our whole lives. Trust me. Something’s changing.”

Kelisian and Sarenee looked to each other to ensure they were both feeling the same about the idea. Terrified, confused, and generally bewildered. No one in Kelisian’s family had any aptitude for the Force. She didn’t even know enough about the Force to be sure that it wasn’t hereditary.

Kelisian’s eyes wandered to the open back door to the suite. That must’ve been where Ervane had snuck her in. With any luck, no one had recognized them in the wreckage. 

But it wasn’t Ervane who Kelisian was thinking about sneaking in.

“There’s no way to know for sure,” Sarenee said. Her hands entangled themselves in her pale pink skirt, covering her fists in satiny fabric.

“Actually,” Kelisian interrupted, “I think we might be in the perfect position to ask an expert.”

Norephine grinned mischievously. 

It took Sarenee a moment, but when she realized what Kelisian was implying, she rolled her eyes. “No, we can’t.”

Kelisian smirked at Norephine. “I think it’s about time we talk to Anakin, don’t you?”


	6. gimme! gimme! gimme! (a man after midnight)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Norephine's night is full of surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i did minimal amounts of research so maybe canon has Some rights.

“Go, Nori!” Kelisian screamed. Her hand caught the back of Norephine’s head and shoved her down. Falling to a crouch behind a piece of scrap metal, the two girls clung to each other. Laser weapons fired above their heads.

Sarenee screamed from out of sight. A deep-voiced laugh responded to her fear.

Norephine attempted to stand up, but Kelisian held her tight. The strength had been sapped from Norephine, and there was no chance that she could get Kelisian off of her. She could barely even keep her eyes open. Something was very wrong.

“Don’t go out there,” Kelisian commanded. Her eyes were wide with fear as she peeked over the top of their makeshift cover. “No matter what happens. Don’t you dare.”

Sarenee’s voice cried out from behind Norephine, and she covered her ears with her hands. She couldn’t go save her. She couldn’t even stand on her own. Was this what her father felt like all the time? Drained, empty, dying?

Even through her hands covering her ears, the sound of the battle raging overwhelmed Norephine. She felt a lump growing in her throat. Her heart pounded so loudly that it joined the chorus of laser weapons and metal crunching providing the cacophony.

Kelisian’s hand clamped down on Norephine’s shoulder. “Duck!” She shouted. She ripped Norephine forward, sending her falling onto her stomach. Norephine looked over her shoulder just as a scarlet beam of light cut through the air where her head was moments ago. A red lightsaber. The person wielding it put one foot on the top of the scrap metal.

Norephine’s throat closed with fear, but her body wouldn’t move. It felt like someone had connected a direct line to her nervous system and was using it to power a planet. The world was oscillating between hyperfocus and consuming darkness.

“Oh, no,” Kelisian whispered. She tugged at Norephine’s arm desperately, her grip so tight it had to be bruising her. “Run, Nori. Go, run. Now!”

*

Norephine gasped awake. Her eyes opened to darkness, and she clawed at her surroundings until the blanket she’d accidentally burrowed beneath pulled over her head. She was safe in her room, and her sheets were giving off their characteristic glow. She was safe.

Norephine probed the darkness. Across the room, both Sarenee and Kelisian were perfectly peaceful in their beds, sound asleep. Kelisian’s hair was in her mouth. 

She wasn’t screaming orders over the sound of a battle. Norephine wasn’t sapped of her strength. When she moved her hands through the dark air, they weren’t trapped in slow motion. Her body functioned as it should.

Still, she doubted she’d be sleeping again anytime soon. Norephine sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Her slippers were tucked underneath it, but she pushed away her anxiety and fished them out of the darkness anyway.

Her footsteps were silent with her slippers on. Norephine crossed the room, eased the door open, and slipped unheard out of the bedroom. 

She let out a breath when the door closed behind her. She tried her best not to appear scared in front of people, but her dream had been unsettling to say the least. She needed to be alone to properly panic.

With Padme’s room adjoining the parlor, Norephine still needed to get farther from her friends. She continued walking out to the main hall, which would be deserted at this time of night. The Senators kept conservative hours, especially since Palpatine’s rise to full power. 

Lucky for Norephine, that meant that once the door to Padme’s adjoining quarters was closed, she was alone. She allowed herself to exhale. Her silence in the suite wasn’t out of fear or intimidation. Padme had certainly seen her in worse shape than this, and she’d only ever offered care and comfort. The problem was that Norephine didn’t want comfort. She needed to think.

Moving silently, Norephine started to walk down the rounded outer hallway. Most of the rooms out here were living quarters for the Senators and their families, gathered by necessity. Similar needs and expectations were gathered together and heavily guarded, both from within and externally. At this end of the sprawling complex, most of the units belonged to humans or human-hybrids. They required similar nutrition and rest, so it was easier on maintenance to keep them nearest each other.

Padme and her Ladies didn’t typically find themselves staying here long. Their homes on Naboo were far preferable, allowing them each their own space instead of the shared room they occupied on Coruscant. In these times, they had learned to adapt. Padme had warned the three Ladies before their return that they may want to bring clothes with them, since their lodging would be unsure. 

A smile played at Norephine’s expression. Sarenee’s family had been visiting Sullust at the time Padme contacted them, and Norephine had never seen her respond faster. She hated her father’s homeworld. Alderaan, her mother’s planet, had always suited her better. That was in no small part due to her abundant love of emerald wine.

Norephine found one of the soft benches below the windows, probably built for this exact purpose. She settled on it, sitting atop her feet. Outside, moonlight glinted off the curves and lines of buildings, shining like treasures in a box.

“Can’t sleep?”

Norephine startled, pulling her dressing gown tighter around her. A figure in white emerged from the shadowy hallway on the opposite side of the window from Norephine. 

Her initial fear evaporated as she recognized the person who had joined her in the dark. One of the other senators, from a luxury outpost beyond the Core Worlds. Norephine had seen her once or twice before while accompanying Padme, but had never exchanged words with her. 

“Senator Frane,” Norephine said. Her voice was hoarse, and she realized she hadn’t spoken aloud since waking up from her nightmare. She stood, ensuring her back was straight, and tried to remember what planet the other woman was from so she could provide the correct form of respect.

But Senator Frane just chuckled softly. “Norephine,” she greeted her with a nod. 

She approached Norephine and took a seat on the padded bench by the window. The light of the moons outside cast lavender light on her dark blonde curls. “You can call me Lysadora. Don’t bother with formalities, it’s too late in the night for them.”

Norephine wasn’t sure how she felt about that, or how she felt about being intruded upon in general. She didn’t know how Lysadora knew her name. 

Norephine hesitantly sat down, giving Lysadora her own space. “Why are you awake, then?” Norephine asked, then tacked on, “Lady Lysadora.” 

Her name was fun to say aloud.

Lysadora shook her head. “It’s not Lady-- I don’t use titles.” Her gaze focused on nothing in particular, floating out over the middle distance outside the window. “I can never sleep when I’m worried about something,” she murmured. Her expression was clouded.

Even though she knew it wasn’t her place, Norephine couldn’t suppress her curiosity. She pulled her knees to her chest, letting her feet rest on the cushion below her. “Can I help?” She inquired hesitantly. “My friends say I’m a good listener.” 

They never had, but Norephine wanted to know what was turning Lysadora’s pretty face into a frown.

Lysadora’s gaze slid toward her companion. Norephine self-consciously smoothed out her pants, hoping Lysadora didn’t see anything she disapproved of. Norephine’s pajamas were made of soft, simple fabric, the color of a late dusk. It consisted of a short top, cut off above her belly button, and flowing pants that cuffed at her ankles. She’d abandoned her favorite dressing gown when she realized Anakin was sneaking by under cover of night.

Something like fascination shone in Lysadora’s eyes. “Your hair is beautiful,” she murmured. Her dark eyes lingered on Norephine’s braids, then met her eyes. “Where’s it from?”

Norephine couldn’t help the blush that darkened her cheeks. She touched her iridescent hair subconsciously, hoping it looked alright. It sometimes had a tendency to look silver in lowlight, rather than its actual pink-and-blue shades. In response to Lysadora’s inquiry, Nori shrugged. “Baralou, same as me and my mother. I grew up on Corellia, though.”

A flicker of recognition fluttered across Lysadora’s face. Her brown eyes twinkled, and she leaned her head on her hand. “You’re Agnamorus’ daughter, aren’t you? I can see the resemblance.”

Norephine nodded, forcing her expression to remain blank. After her last visit with her father, she wasn’t so sure that her similarity to him was a good thing. The very thought made guilt well up in her chest. He had single-handedly raised her, made her the woman she was. She had no right to bear anything but respect toward him.

“Yes, he’s my father,” Norephine confirmed. Her voice did not betray her emotions.

Lysadora’s pretty eyes softened. “I’m sorry that he’s ailing. Are you doing all right?”

Norephine lifted one shoulder, then let it fall. She felt her favorite lie about to slip free, but changed her mind at the last second. “I don’t know,” she admitted.

It was strange to say that out loud. She liked to say she was doing fine. Great, even, on the days that her father had the strength to stand. Norephine was hesitant to even go into detail with Kelisian and Sarenee, despite the fact that no one knew her better.

That was part of the problem. If Norephine admitted she was hurting, there would be no escaping it. They would give her those sad eyes when her father was mentioned, and Norephine didn’t think she could take their kindness. It was much easier to leave them in the dark, and be treated as if everything was fine, than to be looked at like she might start crying at any moment.

Lysadora, however, didn’t look at her with pity in her expression. She simply tilted her head curiously. “How could anyone know better?”

“They couldn’t,” Norephine supposed. She leaned her chin on her knees. “I’m scared, for sure. But I’m also happy most of the time, although I do get sad on occasion.”

Lysadora laughed quietly, her hand supporting her head. The moonlight filtering in through the window made her look like a goddess of the night. “That sounds familiar.”

“It’s hard to narrow it down to just one thing,” Norephine continued excitedly. “I would feel like a liar if I said I was okay, but I’m not useless, either. I don’t cry about it or anything.”

Lysadora didn’t say anything.

Norephine’s lips quirked up into a smile. “I think you might be a better listener than me, Lysadora.”

Lysadora smiled, too. She lifted her head from her hand and scooted closer to Norephine until their knees nearly touched. Her nightdress poured over the edge of the seat like white water. “I’d be glad to listen more.”

Norephine’s pulse accelerated. She self-consciously smoothed the fabric of her pajamas. “I don’t want to keep you awake,” she hesitated.

“Like I said, I always have trouble sleeping when I’m worried,” Lysadora dismissed her. She leaned her cheek on her folded arms. 

Norephine had trouble looking at her and seeing a Senator. She looked young. There was no way she was more than a year older than Nori herself, if that. On one hand, that made her less intimidating. On the other, Nori couldn’t imagine how mature and experienced she was, and how small Nori’s complaints sounded compared to Lysadora’s. Senator Frane represented an entire region, after all.

Then again, Padme was no stranger to Norephine. She, too, was slightly older and far more powerful. She was a princess and a senator.

Still, Norephine’s heart raced a little faster in Lysadora’s presence than it did in Padme’s. She wasn’t sure why.

“Then I’m here to listen,” Norephine decided, scooting toward Lysadora. She bit her lip eagerly.

Lysadora’s shoulders appeared to relax. “My advisors are concerned about my safety here. Today, they tried to convince me to go home.”

Norephine’s brows drew together with concern, and her lips parted slightly. That sounded suspicious, especially in light of Agnamorus’ dismissal of Nori’s concerns that afternoon. It felt like forever ago.

“Is there something wrong?” Norephine asked. Although deceiving Lysadora made her feel a bit guilty, she wouldn’t break her vow of silence twice today. 

Lysadora shrugged. “No one could put a finger on it, if there is one thing. I have to wonder if it’s a feeling of something falling apart. A sum of smaller problems.”

Nori nodded in silent agreement. Knowing what she did, Norephine was feeling a similar way. It was hard to keep a normal routine when, one at a time, everything normal seemed to be falling apart. It was like the universe was ticking off a list of things that made its inhabitants feel at home and destroying them.

The world Nori knew was dying.

A bell tinkled from far away, barely loud enough for Norephine to pick up on it.

Lysadora heard it too, and she furrowed her brow in response. “What was that?”

Nori’s heart leapt into overdrive. Kelisian said she was putting a bell on Padme’s door to wake them when Anakin entered-- at this hour, Norephine guessed they’d all slept through his entrance. Perhaps she could catch him before he left, if she hurried.

“I’m sorry,” Norephine said, standing from the bench. She smoothed down her pants and robe again, hoping to maintain some semblance of a respectable appearance. That was probably a lost cause. She smiled shyly. “I just remembered there’s something I need to do.”

Lysadora’s eyes shaded with sorrow. “Oh,” she whispered in disappointment. “Can I see you again tomorrow?”

Norephine opened and closed her mouth. Her cheeks warmed. “I-- yes. I believe you can.”

“You believe I can?”

“Yes.”

She was still stepping backward, like she was scared Lysadora would bite her. Neither woman spoke for a moment, just watched the distance between them grow greater. Norephine half-wanted to stay with Lysadora, Anakin be damned, but she knew for a fact neither Sarenee nor Kelisian would wake at the faint sound of a tinkling bell.

“I’ll count the minutes,” Lysadora promised.

Norephine felt her heart drop out through her ass and smiled, then walked away as quickly as possible. She was afraid she’d burst into giddy laughter if she didn’t.

Norephine hurried back to Padme’s chambers, her mind racing with ideas. Lysadora wanted to see her again. The very thought sent electricity crackling through her nervous system. She almost forgot why she was running back to her room until she shoved the door open and collided with something solid.

Two voices whispered swears. Nori grimaced and cradled her forearm to her chest. She must have jammed her wrist when the door stopped moving so suddenly. 

She shouldn’t have been so surprised to look up and see Anakin, who was also cringing. In the half-light, with the moon blocked by the elaborate windows, it was harder to identify him. He wasn’t wearing his fancy Jedi clothes like usual, and he looked way less intimidating without them. He lifted a hand, probably about to do one of those annoying Jedi tricks on her.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Norephine hissed, holding her hands up in surrender. She pressed her back against the door to shut it completely. “I’m not going to tell anyone. Promise.”

Anakin’s eyes narrowed. He tilted his head like he didn’t entirely believe her, and his hand did not lower. “How can I be sure?”

Norephine pondered her options. Dual threat-and-trust would probably do the trick. “Because I’ve known since way before summer. And I’m not the only one.” She forced her hands to lower to her sides, pretending not to be freaked out. “Even if you… I don’t know, mid-wipe me, other people will still know your big bad secret.”

“Other people like the Handmaidens?” Anakin surmised.

Norephine rolled her eyes. Sarenee would be genuinely offended, but Norephine found it more amusing than annoying. “I’m not a Handmaiden. Do I  _ look _ like your girlfriend?”

Anakin skimmed Norephine’s face for any similarity to Padme. Norephine didn’t doubt he wouldn’t find any. Most obviously, Padme didn’t have prismatic hair.

“No,” he said, taking a step back. “You must be one of the Ladies. And Padme, your Queen, is not my girlfriend.”

Norephine couldn’t help her knowing smile. Kelisian had told her that already. “Yeah, I forgot. You’re  _ married _ now,” she teased, eyes glimmering. “I’m kind of sad that I wasn’t invited.”

Anakin lowered his hand. Norephine wondered if he still regarded her as a threat, now that she’d identified herself as one of the more useless attendees of the Senate. She didn’t even have the honor of protecting Padme, like the Handmaidens. 

“No one was invited,” Anakin dismissed Nori. “It wasn’t personal.”

Nori sighed. “I’ll have to get over it, I guess. I’m not upset that you didn’t know who I was. The Ladies are just glorified Handmaidens, anyway.”

Anakin nodded in silent agreement. He still regarded Norephine with a small amount of suspicion. “How can I be sure that you won’t tell anyone about this?” He asked, forcing his voice to sound deeper than it was.

“You can’t,” Norephine admitted. “But you can definitely sweeten the deal a little.”

“How?” Anakin asked darkly.

Norephine slid away from the door, making it clear she wasn’t trying to prevent him from leaving. She knew the right answer-- Anakin could help Kelisian and Sarenee in ways Norephine couldn’t. She was pretty sure he’d do it, despite the fact that they weren’t Jedi. It was no secret that he was a little bit rules-optional, made ever clearer by his presence in the royal suite. Norephine’s eyes skimmed the room and caught on a bench in the corner. Resting atop it was a slender scrap of ship metal.

She began to smile.

“What do you want?” Anakin asked.

Norephine turned back to face him. “I want you to teach me how to fight,” she announced.

Anakin’s gaze darted toward Padme’s bedroom door in concern.

Norephine dropped her voice to a whisper. She didn’t want Padme waking up any more than Anakin did. “I don’t like sitting still while there’s a war on,” she hissed.

Anakin shook his head, and Norephine’s heart sank. “I can’t do that,” he said firmly. “That’s against every tenet I can think of.”

Norephine pointed at Padme’s bedroom door and said nothing.

Anakin pressed his mouth into a reluctant line. He looked to the ceiling, like he already knew he was going to regret this answer. “Okay, I’ll help you.”

Norephine couldn’t help the grin that bloomed on her lips. Before she could stop herself, she burbled, “Can I have a lightsaber?”

“No,” Anakin said with emphasis.

Nori frowned.

He moved toward the door. Norephine almost wished he’d stay, but she knew he couldn’t, not without risking too much. “Meet me at the northern service elevator, same time tomorrow night,” he said.

She took a step toward him. “How do I know you’ll be there?”

“You don’t,” he shrugged, opening the door. When he spoke again, his voice was even quieter. He probably didn’t want it carrying down the hall. “But you don’t really have other offers, do you?”

He was right.

Norephine crossed her arms. “Same time tomorrow night. Don’t be late.”

Anakin scoffed and slipped out the door. Before it closed, she heard his voice through the crack. “We’ll see.”

The door shut with a soft thump. Norephine was left scowling at an empty room.

She turned back to face her bedroom door. Whether or not her plan was solid, she had one nonetheless. It was more than she’d started out with. And, even better, she had two dates for tomorrow. One with a Jedi Knight, and the other with a pretty, mysterious Senator. At least one of them would involve dueling.

Norephine made a detour on her way to her bed to swipe up her makeshift sabre. She gave it a flourish, drawing vertical circles in the air on both sides of her body. It spun easily, flawlessly, like an extension of her body. Norephine resolved to have a real discussion with Anakin tomorrow about the whole lightsaber issue. He hadn’t seen her fight yet.

“Oh, really?” Anakin said.

Norephine turned around quickly, wondering if he’d returned. Before she could get a clear look at the room, something hard whacked her across the head. Norephine sucked in a breath of pain, but when she lifted her hand to her brow, nothing was there. Not even a scrape.

No one was in the room at all. It was like she’d dreamed Anakin’s voice.

A chill crept up her spine. She didn’t know how to explain that at all. No concept of engineering had prepared her for disembodied voices and head injuries.

“I think it’s bedtime,” she whispered. No one heard, except for whatever invisible attacker was probably lurking in the room. Norephine hurried into the Ladies’ suite and locked the door behind her.


	7. immigrant song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarenee runs into a familiar face while doing some covert operations at the ballet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is long because i like drama.  
> Grayle Andorra (GRAIL and-OR-a)  
> Faeree Slandor (FAY-err-AY SLAN-dor)  
> Trinisan Slandor (TRIN-is-AN SLAN-dor)  
> Alinee Slandor (ALL-ee-NAY SLAN-dor)

“There’s not a ghost here,” Kelisian insisted.

Norephine wouldn’t hear a word of it. “Of course there is. It whacked me on the head!” She stormed over to Sarenee’s bed and dropped gracelessly on top of the shiny blankets. Her crossed arms, heavy with the dresses she brought to the Senate, shielded her from Kelisian’s doubt.

Sarenee’s hand came up to rub her back in an attempt to comfort her. “Hey, it’s fine. There’s no way for us to know what really happened.” She shot Kelisian a pointed look, as if to dissuade her from making any more comments.

“Unless you listen to me telling you a ghost smacked me,” Norephine huffed. She wriggled a hand free from her bundle of dresses and smoothed down the fabric of the top one. “I’m not lying. It happened, and it was weird.”

Kelisian, blessedly, did not counter the comment. She tied off the end of her braid and raised an eyebrow at Sarenee in her vanity mirror.

Sarenee wasn’t going to fall prey to telling Nori what had and had not happened to her outside. Even if she was lying, she was too stubborn to ever admit it. Pressuring her about it would only annoy them both.

Instead, Sarenee twisted a piece of Nori’s hair around her finger. The ends of her iridescent hair were dull and coarse, undermining Nori’s put-together facade. A distraction would be the best exit from this conversation. “You need a haircut. Your ends are gray.”

Nori looked down, lifted a different chunk of hair, and sighed. “I was supposed to get one at the end of summer, but I forgot.”

“Did you forget to ask Anakin about training us, too?” Kelisian asked. Her mirror was at the wrong angle to see Nori, but Sarenee watched her frown and jut her chin forward. The mirror scooted back so abruptly that it almost fell off the vanity, but its new angle allowed Kelisian to see Nori’s face.

Nori dropped her chin in shame. Her head rested on the top of her dress pile. “I’ll ask him when I see him again.”

“And when will that be?”

“It’s not important,” Sarenee interrupted. She took a dress out of the pile on Nori’s lap and strode across the room. Her closet had been entirely emptied, and hangers were all that remained. Sarenee looked back at Nori. “What are you doing to your clothes?”

Norephine fiddled with the embroidery on the front of her only conservative gown. “I was gonna turn them into fighting clothes.”

Sarenee raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. It shouldn’t have surprised her that Norephine was very quickly getting ahead of herself, but she was still let down. It felt like every day since she’d told Kelisian and Nori about the spies in the Senate, they’d lost a little more of their common sense. If there was ever a time to take things slowly, one day at a time, it was now.

Clearly, Nori had no patience for that sort of thing. 

“I think the blue one would be really cool if I sewed some pants into it,” Nori mused. Sarenee heard fabric shifting. “Then cut the front of the skirt open, like a little… butt-cape.”

“There’s a name for that,” Kelisian pointed out.

Sarenee turned back to Nori. “Don’t forget to ask Anakin about us next time, okay?”

Norephine paused for a moment. She had forgotten that argument already. “Yeah, I will. Promise.”

Sarenee nodded shortly. “Good. Now, on a more relevant note, I’m going to do a little surveillance today.”

Nori frowned, probably annoyed at being called irrelevant.

“If you want to come, you have to focus,” Sarenee emphasized. She slid her eyes toward Kelisian. “No bickering. I would like all of us to come back in one piece, thank you very much.”

Nori pushed her pile of dresses off her lap. “What do we wear?”

Sarenee shrugged. “Quiet shoes. Please don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“But I’m so good at it,” Kelisian whined playfully. She turned around on her vanity stool, her eyes glittering with excitement. “I was going to sneak Ervane into the opera house tonight. They’re doing a ballet.”

Sarenee beamed. “Perfect. I was going, too. Politicians love art so long as it doesn’t threaten their supremacy.” She picked up another of Nori’s gowns.

Norephine was staring at her.

“What?” Sarenee asked.

Kelisian’s cough sounded oddly like, “ _ Separatist _ .”

Sarenee shot her a dirty look. “I am  _ not _ a separatist. It’s just that I’ve seen Squid Lake more times than I care to count, and it’s the ballet with the least to say about power. It’s all magic and mind tricks and pirouettes.”

“Wait, I thought you said you were doing surveillance?” Norephine piped up curiously. 

“I am,” Sarenee said. “Padme said there’s an issue between the Chancellor and some of the Senators, and they’re all going to the ballet to blow off steam. I think that if I happen to take a lap around the private boxes during the middle of the second act, I’ll catch a couple tipsy Senators spilling details they shouldn’t.”

Kelisian nodded, catching her drift. “Less sabotage, more right-place-right-time. I like it.” She stood up and scooped up her favorite sash, made of shimmering crocheted rope. Sarenee hoped she’d pair it with the bright turquoise gown that brought out her eyes.

“I should wear the turquoise dress,” Kelisian said to herself before Sarenee could open her mouth. “It brings out my eyes, doesn’t it?”

Sarenee stared sidelong at Kelisian. She couldn’t have known that was the very thought in Sarenee’s mind. It was a coincidence, if an unsettling one. “It does,” Sarenee agreed hesitantly. 

Kelisian beamed and dug through her dresses for the one in question.

Meanwhile, Sarenee refocused on Norephine. She pointed to the heaping pile of gowns. “Do you plan to put those away?” She asked, feigning patience.

Nori’s chin lowered. “Not immediately.”

“Can you please put them on your own bed, then?” Sarenee asked politely. She crossed her arms and rubbed her left elbow anxiously.

Norephine did as she asked. It took her three trips, now that the pils was beginning to fall apart. “You’re acting strangely,” she observed on her last mission from Sarenee’s bed to her own. Norephine tossed the dresses in a pile at the foot of her bed and sat down. She sat awkwardly, one foot tucked under her leg. She studied Sarenee with inquisitive eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Sarenee bit the inside of her cheek. She hated feeling seen, and Norephine had an unlikely way of gazing right through Sarenee’s blank expressions. She sensed the tightly wound ball of silent fear and anger Sarenee kept safely repressed. She always had, since they met as children. There was no use lying to her about it.

Sarenee sighed and uncrossed her arms. “You know I can’t stand manipulators.”

“Understatement of the damn century,” Kelisian giggled. She looked over her shoulder and winked at Sarenee. “You remember that lover you had on Sullust, what we did to him?” Kelisian refocused on Norephine, still smirking. “She’s wasted as a High Lady. Sarenee would be a fearsome bounty hunter.”

Norephine giggled, but Sarenee interrupted before she could respond.

“I think the Chancellor is playing Padme to keep her out of his way,” Sarenee proposed abruptly. The words broke loose before she had even fully processed them. Once they were out in the air, Sarenee’s heart began to race. What would that mean for Padme? What would that mean for any of them?

Kelisian and Norephine seemed to be thinking the same thing. They looked to each other, concern etched into their faces, and then to Sarenee.

“Should we tell her?” Nori asked shyly.

Kelisian opened and closed her mouth. Sarenee knew that look. Kelisian didn’t have an answer she was sure enough about to say out loud.

Sarenee didn’t, either. “I think we should test the waters,” she suggested. She glanced to Norephine to make sure she wasn’t opposed to the idea.

“You mean talk her into telling us about Palpatine?” Kelisian confirmed. She had stopped halfway through putting on her earrings. Only one silver stone twinkled above her shoulder.

Sarenee shrugged. “It’s the only way I can think of to protect her.”

“It’s not our job to protect her,” Nori chimed in. At the glares she received from both her companions, she held up her hands in surrender. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t. I’m saying we’re not warriors.”

Kelisian extended a hand toward a padded stool on the side of Norephine’s bed, and it scooted back by a few inches. She put her hands on her hips and waited for Norephine’s rebuttal. Sarenee wished, for a moment, she could show off her skills the same way. Frustratingly, hers were less tangible. She didn’t blow things up with her emotions.

“You know that isn’t what I mean,” Norephine argued. She hugged her knees to her chest. “What are we gonna do against… I don’t know, a lightsaber?”

“People with lightsabers are Jedi. Who are, by definition, trying to protect us,” Sarenee reminded her. She spoke in a clipped tone, forcing patience.

Norephine scowled and did not respond. She wasn’t good at being wrong.

Thinking it better not to push her, Sarenee refocused on Kelisian. “I’m going to get dressed. How soon will you be ready?”

“I’m already done,” Kelisian said. She turned around to face Sarenee, her dress fastened by the silver sash. The fabric was a brilliant blue-green, draped over the bodice and flowing like wind to the floor. Despite its solid appearance, the material moved like tissue paper in the evening breeze, lighter than air.

Sarenee smiled and nodded her approval. “Of course you are. Give me just a moment to slip a dress on.”

She turned to her wardrobe and sifted through it, searching for one gown in particular. Behind her, Sarenee heard Kelisian say something to Norephine. Norephine’s reply was either nonexistent or too quiet for Sarenee to hear.

She found the gown in question. It was less a gown than an assemblage of pretty pieces. She stepped into the skirt, long and simple, and pulled it up to her waist. A shimmering, half-opaque top was next, just long enough to overlap with her skirt. Lastly, a rose gold satin vest with pearl buttons. It was tight enough to perfectly flatter Sarenee’s silhouette, and just formal enough to be worn to the ballet.

Kelisian whistled at her like the Sullust boys used to. “That’s quite the gown,” she complimented her. “Planning on destroying anyone’s life tonight?”

“Yes,” Sarenee said, completely serious.

She looked toward Norephine, who had rolled over on her bed to face away from them. She was buried underneath the mess of dresses she’d created.

“Nori,” Sarenee crooned as sweetly as possible. “You have to get dressed, or we’ll be late.”

“Go without me,” Norephine grumbled. She tugged her blanket higher over her shoulder, almost concealing the fact that she was still fully clothed. “I don’t wanna come.”

Sarenee and Kelisian exchanged a thoughtful look. This moody facet of Norephine was no stranger, after over a decade of shared life. The smallest conflict or error could send her spinning over the edge from annoyed to fully shut off. She could stay in her blanket fort for anywhere from an hour to a week.

Kelisian tilted her head toward Norephine pointedly. She wanted to try and convince her otherwise. It had worked before. Once, when they were far younger, all three Ladies had skipped an important dinner because Norephine found herself too upset to leave her bedroom. Padme hadn’t been angry, but she’d asked them to let her know ahead of time when Norephine was going to be absent. No one was waiting on them now, but Sarenee knew her window of opportunity would close. She had things to do tonight.

Sarenee shook her head. There was no time to coddle Norephine, not with a potentially-corrupt Chancellor and their Queen at stake. Besides, it hadn’t always worked before. Sometimes, Norephine even got angry when they tried to help her. She committed hard to her mood swings.

“Go to your ballet,” Norephine urged them. She didn’t roll over.

Sarenee shook her head again, but it was disappointment behind the motion this time. “Okay,” she obliged. Even as Kelisian gawked, Sarenee turned around and left the room.

Kelisian was close behind. “You’re just going to leave her?” She demanded.

Sarenee kept walking. The next shuttle to the opera house would leave in seven minutes, and it usually took her at least three to get downstairs. She had no time to wait for Norephine to pull herself out of the pity party hole she’d put herself in. “She said she didn’t want to come. So she’s not coming.”

Kelisian sighed. “You know her as well as I do, Sare. She can’t be left alone.”

“She’s not  _ five _ .”

“No, but she’s sensitive,” Kelisian argued. Her voice was soft-- too soft for the situation. “She needs people to make her feel less vulnerable.”

Sarenee giggled. “I dare you to say that to her face.”

Kelisian rolled her eyes. She wasn’t having Sarenee’s lightheartedness, which was frustrating. It reminded Sarenee that she wasn’t actually this mean. Just like Norephine, Kelisian could see right through her sometimes.

“I don’t have time to coddle an adult,” Sarenee explained coolly. She walked quickly, like she was trying to outrun the problem of Norephine. “If Nori wants to act like a child, she can feel free to do so, but I’m not going to enable her melodrama.”

A chill shot down Sarenee’s spine, and she recoiled in surprise. It felt like her dress had ripped open. She yelped and turned in a full circle, searching for a tear.

“What are you  _ doing _ ?” Kelisian asked incredulously.

“Is my dress ripped?” Sarenee asked, voice raw with concern. She knew she’d burst into angry tears if it had been ruined. There was too much happening, danger and lies and corruption, to not have her favorite gown on hand. 

Kelisian checked her, head to toe. “No. You’re fine. Did you hear something rip?”

“No, I felt it,” Sarenee muttered. The chill she’d felt was gone now, but she’d sensed it clear as day just moments ago. She couldn’t be losing her mind.

Kelisian didn’t look convinced. “I don’t think you did,” she muttered. She walked past Sarenee with a swish of her airy skirt.

Sarenee huffed. She hesitated before following Kelisian, if only to remind herself that her irritation with her best friends was a result of outside stress. It didn’t make the knot in her gut unravel, but it made her feel less like throwing a tantrum.

Somebody strode past Sarenee so rapidly that she flinched and took a step away. Once the initial surprise had faded, she recognized the wavy hair that shone almost white in the warmth of the sunset. It glinted silver and pearl against the deep amethyst of Norephine’s gown.

“Nori?” Sarenee called, hurrying after her. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

Kelisian turned back to face them, eyes going wide when she spotted Norephine. “Are you all right?” she asked.

Norephine didn’t slow down. “I’m okay. I don’t want to talk about it.”

And that was that.

Upon arrival to the opera house, the girls decided to split up. Kelisian decided to go talk to the Handmaids, Norephine to the Senator’s boxes upstairs. Sarenee claimed she was going to go backstage, but something urged her otherwise.

She didn’t know how to describe it. It was like the chill she’d felt in the hallway earlier. Someone had fastened a rope around her guts and was pulling her gently in a contrary direction.

The opera house was black and navy and sparkling like celebratory wine. Warm lights floated above, giving a soft appearance to everything out of the shadows. Everything looked gauzy and luxurious, and the walls appeared soft as expensive velvet.

With a mischievous goodbye, Kelisian went left and disappeared around the corner. Norephine stepped into the dark staircase that led up into the auditorium. Sarenee, against her own instructions, followed the latter.

Norephine turned around when she heard footsteps on the stairs behind her. “What are you doing?” She asked bluntly.

Sarenee steeled her gaze. “I’m coming with you.”

“Why?”

Sarenee paused. She could tell the truth, that she was being drawn toward Norephine by some kind of strong, invisible string. “I don’t want you to be angry with me.”

Norephine scoffed. She turned away and continued up the stairs. Her voice fell to a whisper as the house lights dimmed. “I’m not angry. I told you to leave, and you left.”

Sarenee hesitated for a moment, watching Norephine leave her behind. Something was wrong. It may have been her friends’ talent to see right through her, but maybe that went both ways. Sarenee hurried up the steps behind Norephine. “What happened last night?”

Two steps up. “Nothing.”

“ _ Nori _ ,” Sarenee groaned. She caught up to her on the landing. Below them, audience-style seats for lower employees of the Senate spread across a deep blue carpet. The golden backs of seats glinted under the warm lights. Above, the private boxes extended like rows of scales from the walls. If Norephine weren’t in one of her moods, Sarenee would have taken a moment to appreciate the view.

Sarenee turned to face Norephine, who had paused as well. She was gritting her teeth.

“I’m sorry for leaving you behind,” Sarenee admitted. “I shouldn’t have done that. I was anxious about getting here in time.”

Norephine twisted her fingers together anxiously. The overture started to play, a mystical melody that reminded Sarenee of her childhood. They needed to move quickly to reach the level Sarenee wanted to wander.

Before she could say another word to Norephine, someone ran into Sarenee’s back. She held tight to the railing to avoid tripping. When she had regained her balance, she looked back at her assaulter, already glaring.

Her glower was met by two cornflower-blue eyes, wide with surprise. “Apologies, my Lady,” the stranger said. When he looked to the floor, a segment of honey-blonde hair fell between his brows. “My eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dark,” he apologized.

Norephine slid her gaze sideways at Sarenee.

Sarenee wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of a blush. “It’s quite all right,” she dismissed him politely. “I won’t fault you for the shadows in here.”

The stranger looked up with a grateful smile. He paused just a moment too long, light eyes skimming from Sarenee’s golden hair to the hem of her peony-pink gown. “I’m Grayle Andorra. I wish we’d met more gracefully.”

Sarenee’s heart dropped into the sole of her shoes. Now  _ there _ was a familiar name.

She kept the smile on her face from falling. “Pleased to meet you regardless, Sir Andorra. I’m sorry to have to go so soon, but we must hurry to our seats.”

And with that, Sarenee turned away from Grayle Andorra, seized Norephine’s hand, and pulled her skirts out of the way on her way up the stairs.

“What was  _ that _ ?” Norephine giggled, distracted from her pity party.

Sarenee stifled a groan. She pulled Norephine up to the hallway where the Chancellor’s box was, according to Motée the Handmaiden. “That was Prince Andorra of the Sullust Andorras.”

Norephine let loose a low giggle. “No, not the one you--”

“The one I was betrothed to?” Sarenee finished with a grimace. It was pure luck that it had been too long since their last meeting for Grayle to recognize her face. “Unfortunately, yes.  _ That _ Prince Andorra.”

Norephine was still giggling. Sarenee couldn’t help but roll her eyes, annoyed at her companion’s amusement.

“How’d jilting your fiancee go, Sare?” She teased.

“It went just fine, thank you,” Sarenee countered coolly. She ceased her strides down the wide, empty hall. Sarenee turned to face Norephine and held her arms out. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Something clicked open behind Sarenee. Norephine’s eyes went wide. She grabbed Sarenee’s wrist and pulled her behind a curtained-off cocktail table. A door slid open with a soft hiss, then closed faintly down the hall.

Sarenee made a face. “What are you--”

“Shh,” Norephine interrupted. She peeked out from the enclave, waited for a moment, and then stepped into the hallway once again. “Come on,” she beckoned Sarenee with a tilt of her head.

Sarenee followed her. There was no one in the hallway. Whatever Norephine had seen was gone now. “What did you see?”

“Palpatine’s aides just left him,” Nori replied, her voice quiet. She led the way to the room she’d seen them exit. With each step she took, her satiny violet skirt cast faint reflections of cerulean onto the floor like water droplets. Sarenee was so focused on them that she almost ran into Nori when she abruptly stopped walking.

Nori pointed to the stairwell leading up the side of Palpatine’s box. Sarenee darted around her and led the way up the steps. They were cordoned off, but neither girl hesitated to pass the velvet rope and take a seat on the steps. They crawled up another few stairs, so when they sat upright, they had the perfect vantage point to peer down at the Chancellor.

His voice was hushed, but not quiet enough to keep his secrets from the trespassing Ladies squished into the stairwell. “The Jedi Council want control of the Republic,” Palpatine hissed. “They’re planning to betray me.”

Sarenee looked to Norephine on the step below hers, but Nori’s eyes were shut. She was focused on eavesdropping. Sarenee followed her lead and shut her eyes.

A second voice, more hesitant, responded to Palpatine. “I don’t think…”

“Anakin, search your feelings,” Palpatine interrupted urgently. “You know, don’t you?”

In the silence before he received a response, Sarenee and Norephine made shocked eye contact. Nori’s eyes were wide with confusion. She shook her head, and Sarenee couldn’t tell if she was doubting the accuracy of her own ears or simply appalled.

He spoke as if each word might be turned against him. Like he wasn’t sure who would betray him first. “I know they don’t trust you,” Anakin responded cautiously. 

“Or the Senate,” Palpatine added, “or the Republic, or democracy, for that matter.”

Nori rested a hand on Sarenee’s knee in search of comfort. Sarenee laid her hand on top of Nori’s, a silent reassurance. If Norephine believed Sarenee’s certainty, she was only led by blind belief. Sarenee had never been less sure of her future. The Chancellor and the Jedi were pulling in opposite directions, both with their own forms of power. This could mean war, if it wasn’t stopped.

But, Sarenee knew, it wouldn’t stop until someone was silenced. Maybe that’s why Padme had kicked her out of the meeting with Bail Organa, despite Sarenee sharing his blood. Maybe that’s what Sarenee had overheard days and days ago, when she’d told Kelisian and Norephine to be on their guard. Her insides turned to lead at the thought. It had never been more dangerous to be right.

“I have to admit my trust in them has been shaken,” Anakin admitted. There was more than a hint of shame in his voice.

“Why?” Palpatine asked. He paused to study Anakin’s clouded expression. “They asked you to do something that made you feel dishonest, didn’t they?”

There was another long silence. Nori had stopped looking over the railing, but Sarenee couldn’t bring herself to tear her eyes away. Shrouded in the stairwell’s shadow, neither Anakin nor the Chancellor was likely to see her unless they knew where to look. All that was visible was the crown of blonde braids on her head and two green eyes.

“They asked you to spy on me, didn’t they?” Palpatine guessed.

Anakin’s silence was the only answer anyone needed. Nori started tapping Sarenee’s knee anxiously, as if Sarenee had stopped paying attention for a single moment. Sarenee forced Nori’s hand to still by squishing it under her own.

“I don’t know…” Anakin began. He was slow and careful with his words. “I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. 

Palpatine sighed, his suspicions confirmed. “Remember back to your early teachings, Anakin.  _ All those who gain power are afraid to lose it _ . Even the Jedi.”

Norephine looked over her shoulder at Sarenee, brown eyes full of shock and offense. She looked personally offended.

“The Jedi use their power for good,” Anakin argued, probably giving voice to Norephine’s thoughts. He was more passionate now than he had been just moments ago.

“Good is a point of view, Anakin,” Palpatine pointed out calmly. “And the Jedi point of view is not the only valid one. The Dark Lords of the Sith believe in security and justice also, yet they are considered by the Jedi to be…”

“Evil,” Anakin finished.

“From a Jedi’s point of view,” Palpatine pressed. “The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power. The difference between the two is that the Sith are not afraid of the dark side of the Force. That’s why they are more powerful.”

Norephine vehemently shook her head. Sarenee swatted her hand. Norephine stilled and lifted herself up to be beside Sarenee on her step, to look down on Anakin and Palpatine.

Anakin’s response, once again, matched Norephine’s reaction. “The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inward, only about themselves.”

Sarenee’s mind went to Kelisian, exploding an entire ship to save Ervane. As an immediate inversion, she remembered her own mind control, triggered by her rage at being disrespected. On one hand was power drawn from love, and the other was power from fury. Both were passion, and both could be explosive.

The lilting melodies of Squid Lake made Sarenee feel small again, sitting at her mother’s right hand. The memories layered one on top of the next, year after year. On Sarenee’s other side would be Faeree, Trinisan, and, eventually, Alinee. Her siblings had all but stopped contacting her since the summer, save for the occasional message from Faeree asking for advice.

When Sarenee’s mind returned to the stairwell of the opera house, Palpatine had started speaking once again. “Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?”

“No,” Anakin responded. His tone was guarded, but shaken. Something Palpatine said had gotten to him.

“I thought not,” Palpatine said. He spoke as if he knew exactly what Anakin was thinking. “It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.”

Norephine and Sarenee exchanged a worried glance. Sarenee realized with a start that Norephine’s hair was practically reflective, and even in the darkness of the stairwell, it glinted under the stage lights. Luckily, Sarenee spotted the hood that had been hidden under Norephine’s hair down her back. She nimbly swept Nori’s hair to the side and pulled her violet hood over her head. It wasn’t often that Norephine’s creative sense of fashion came in handy.

“He could actually save people from death?” Anakin inquired. He sounded genuinely interested.

Nori straightened her back to get a better look at them. With her hood up, Sarenee was no longer concerned about her being spotted. The violet satin wasn’t anywhere near as noticeable as her holographic hair.

“The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural,” Palpatine explained calmly. 

“What happened to him?” Anakin asked, referencing Darth Plagueis.

Both girls leaned in closer.

Palpatine went on. “He became so powerful that the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep.” Palpatine smiled darkly. “Plagueis never saw it coming. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.”

There was a long silence. Anakin was facing away from the girls, so they couldn’t see his face when he asked, “Is there a way to learn this power?”

Palpatine smirked. “Not from a Jedi.”

Sarenee’s implant pinged silently in the palm of her hand. She turned her hand over to see a message from Kelisian, notifying her that she’d found out something strange from the Handmaids. She wanted to meet them on the ground floor.

Sarenee tilted her hand to show Norephine the message, but Norephine had received an identical one. Kelisian had gone out of her way to add, “ _ If you want _ ,” to Norephine’s version. She was always better at handling Nori’s mood wings than Sarenee. Even at Sarenee’s best, a night of surveillance was not the time to throw a tantrum.

Sarenee took Norephine’s hand and led her down the stairs, both of them crouching to keep out of Palpatine and Anakin’s eyeline. They paused at the bottom of the stairs, only far enough from the door to be sure of their privacy.

“Why’d you put my hood up?” Norephine hissed.

Sarenee rolled her eyes. “Keep our priorities in mind, Nori. Your hair practically glows in the dark.”

Nori self-consciously smoothed the portion of it that lay over her left shoulder. “That’s not my fault,” she pointed out.

“I know,” Sarenee agreed. “Here, do you want me to fix your hair?”

Norephine lowered her hood and allowed Sarenee to work her magic. Her gentle waves had only been slightly mussed by the hood, but Sarenee knew Norephine prided herself on her hair. If there was one braid out of place, her mood would sour even more than it already had.

Sarenee finished smoothing Nori’s hair. “There you are,” she said. She lifted Nori’s chin a centimeter. “Keep that head up. Your father would have a conniption if you slumped like that in front of him.”

Norephine rolled her eyes. “Damn my father,” she joked.

Before Sarenee could respond, the door behind her clicked open. It took all her self-control not to whirl on her heel that very instant, or to grab Norephine by the wrist and make a break for the door. Instead, she stared pointedly at Norephine, as if to broadcast her thoughts into her head.  _ Don’t panic _ .

“Princess Leela,” Anakin greeted Norephine, a hint of surprise in his voice. 

Sarenee turned around to face him, and he half-smiled and bowed his head slightly. “And Duchess Slandor. It’s been too long.”

“Same to you, Anakin,” Sarenee smiled. “Did you forget our first names, or are you only playing at formality for the sake of our location?” She gestured to the ornate decorations adorning the opera house.

Anakin broke into a full smile. “I was simply being polite, Sarenee,” he explained. “What are you two doing here? I was unaware Senator Amidala was in attendance.”

_ Senator Amidala _ . Sarenee resisted the urge to giggle. That wasn’t the name he was moaning when he snuck in her quarters every night.

“I was just accompanying Norephine as she was visiting Senator Frane,” Sarenee lied smoothly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Norephine level her with a warning glare.

Anakin looked between the girls, still smirking. “I didn’t know she was a friend of yours, Norephine.”

“She’s not,” Nori said too quickly. “Well, what I mean is--” she stopped herself and turned as pink as Sarenee’s gown. She bit her lower lip and changed her tactic. “Is that the business of a Jedi?” She inquired. Her haughty tone would have been more effective if not for her flushed cheeks.

Anakin’s smirk wasn’t extinguished. “I suppose it isn’t. Apologies, my Lady, and…” Anakin looked to his left and right, as if the walls had ears. “Good luck,” he whispered conspiratorially.

While Norephine buried her hot face in her hands, Sarenee shook her head in amusement. “Be on your way, Master Anakin,” she dismissed him. Sarenee took Norephine’s arm and led her away from Anakin, to where they were supposed to meet with Kelisian.

“Actually--” Anakin began to protest.

Before he got the rest of the sentence out, Sarenee winked at him over her shoulder. She knew full well he wasn’t a Master yet, but he deserved to be as much as anyone else.

He stopped his correction and laughed to himself, then headed the opposite direction of the girls. Sarenee’s nerves started to settle. She’d kept him from asking the more pressing questions, like what they were doing outside Palpatine’s box.

“Why did you have to tell him about Lysadora?” Norephine groaned.

Sarenee scoffed. “Oh, come on, Nori. I could do with a thank-you for getting us out of an almost-dangerous situation.”

“Thank you,” Norephine begrudgingly responded. “But Lysa--”

“Forget Lysa,” Sarenee interrupted. She led Norephine down the grand staircase to where Kelisian had told them to meet her. “Did you hear what Anakin said? He wants to learn Sith powers. Specifically to save somebody’s life.”

Norephine frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s about his Master. They seem close.”

“Most tend to be,” Sarenee agreed. “But Obi-Wan would never let Anakin use those skills, even if his life depended on it.” She bit her lip anxiously as she approached the hallway corner where Kelisian said she’d wait.

Norephine sighed. “You’re doing that face again.”

Sarenee snapped her attention to Nori. “What face?”

“The face like you don’t want to say what you’re thinking because then it’ll be real,” Norephine shrugged. She leveled Sarenee with a stare of surprising calm. “You might as well let me in on it. None of us are going down alone.”

Sarenee relented under her persuasion. “I think Padme’s in danger. I’ve thought so for a while. And with Anakin about to break another law of the Jedi’s, I wouldn’t be surprised if Padme was at the center of it again.”

Norephine didn’t react with the panic Sarenee expected. Instead, she nodded sensibly. “We’ll figure that out later. For now, let’s focus on…” She trailed off, her eyes locked on something across the hall. Norephine’s hand fell loosely on Sarenee’s arm, slowing her pace.

Sarenee followed Norephine’s line of sight, and she, too, found herself breathless. Dressed in a robe of deepest blue, matching only the darkest shades in Kelisian’s gown, Ervane stood across from Kelisian at a cocktail table. He looked like a new man entirely, cleaned up and handsome. Kelisian’s cheeks were an enchanted pink, a glass of sparkling cerulean wine in her hand. Above them, silver light from the tall window silhouetted them in ethereal white.

Unlike Norephine, Sarenee was not driven away by Kelisian’s distraction. She made a beeline across the hallway and joined the two at the table. 

Kelisian smiled excitedly at her arrival. “You’re back!” She chirped. She looked over Sarenee’s shoulder at Norephine, still a few steps behind, and tugged Sarenee forward enough to whisper in her ear. “Ellé snuck him in for me. No one batted an eye at them together.”

Sarenee couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face. She’d have to find a way to thank Ellé later, likely at the Handmaidens’ dinner. “Ervane,” Sarenee greeted Kelisian’s companion politely. “I’m glad you made it.”

“It’s the least I could do,” Ervane dismissed her. “I owe Lisia my life. I’ll accompany her to as many ballets as she pleases, if it’ll come close to repaying my debt.”

Kelisian’s eyes did not stray from him for one second. Her cheeks were still a lovestruck pink.

Sarenee tried not to sound rude as she met Ervane with a smile. “Would you excuse the three of us for just a moment? I’ll return your Lady the moment we’re finished with her.”

Ervane nodded respectfully. “Of course, Duchess Slandor,” he obliged, and departed.

Norephine took his place at the table. Her nose wrinkled as she looked upon Kelisian. “You look absolutely enamored,” she pointed out, as if telling Kelisian she had dung on her skirt.

Kelisian just stuck out her tongue at Norephine.

“If we’re quite done with the romantics,” Sarenee cut in, “we have urgent matters to discuss. Norephine and I overheard the Chancellor urging Anakin to learn Sith powers, specifically to cheat death.”

Kelisian sobered quickly. She lowered her wine glass. “Did he agree to?” she inquired worriedly.

“Not quite,” Norephine replied. “He sounded intrigued, especially regarding how to gain these skills.”

Kelisian let out a short sigh. “Well, that’s good news.”

“What did you discover downstairs?” Sarenee inquired.

“When I went to meet Ellé, I spoke with some of the Handmaidens,” Kelisian explained. She picked at the polish on her fingernails anxiously. “They say that Padme’s begun looking into the best obstetricians this side of the galaxy.”

“Oh, Mother,” Norephine swore softly.

Sarenee felt the blood rush out of her cheeks. No wonder Padme had been so avoidant of her when they’d crossed paths. She was pregnant and keeping it secret. 

“I thought the same,” Kelisian nodded eagerly. “Now, knowing Anakin is interested in learning Sith powers, what could that mean?”

“He’s scared for the fate of the baby,” Norephine guessed.

“Or for Padme,” Sarenee whispered. There was a shade of horror in her tone.

Norephine swallowed hard. “Could we have failed her in a worse manner?” She whispered.

Although the comment was so quiet that it might’ve been directed at herself, Norephine’s point struck Sarenee deeper than she expected. They had become so wrapped up in themselves that they had entirely failed to be Padme’s friends.

“We fix this tomorrow,” Sarenee said decisively. “Padme’s entire afternoon is clear. We will go to her and make this right.”

Kelisian’s expression was nowhere near as shadowed as Norephine and Sarenee’s. In fact, her gaze was skimming over the hall of nobility.

Sarenee nudged her to draw her attention. “Does that please you, Princess Qar-Maksis?”

Kelisian nodded. “Tomorrow we make up for everything,” she agreed. Then, with a flourish, she downed the rest of her wine and set the glass down with finality. She beamed at her two friends. “Tonight, I make up for a different kind of inaction.”

Before Sarenee or Norephine could protest, Kelisian strode across the room to where Ervane was leaning against a column. She said only a handful of words to him, but he smiled as brightly as a sunrise. He turned to face the same way as Kelisian and rested his callused hand on her lower back, guiding her into the seating area. Before she was out of sight entirely, Kelisian looked back at her friends and blew them a kiss.

Norephine caught it. “She’s a mess,” she giggled.

“I’d say so,” Sarenee agreed warmly. She looked back at Nori. “What do you say we go raid the kitchens?”

Norephine smiled mischievously. “Duchess Slandor, you are speaking my language.”


	8. lay all your love on me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reconnecting with Padme leads Kelisian to new conclusions, some of which spell danger for her and her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in today's news: tea. as usual canon means nothing to me and i'm here for a good time not a long time

Kelisian tried not to think about who else had occupied Padme’s bed before her as she ran a soothing hand down her Queen’s back. Padme’s bed was large enough for all three ladies and the Senator with space to spare. Kelisian’s touch lingered on one of Padme’s ringlets. Her hair smelled like the yellow flowers that grew on the balcony outside her bedroom on Naboo.

“I’m sorry I kept it from you,” Padme admitted, one hand on the swell of her belly. By the looks of it, she was somewhere around her sixth or seventh month. There would be a prince or princess joining their circle within the next season.

Kelisian swallowed hard. War edged closer by the day. She’d never seen a battle, but she doubted the incoming violence was any place for an infant. With Padme as prolific as she was, the child would certainly be seen as a weakness.

“It’s all right,” Norephine crooned. She edged her hand closer to Padme’s on the soft silvery sheets. Kelisian’s heartbeat kicked up a notch when she saw the bruises on Nori’s forearm and wrist, the calluses forming on the inside of her thumb. Padme was clever. If she looked too closely, she’d see those marks. With Anakin fathering her child, she’d no doubt recognize the evidence as typical of training with a Jedi.

Padme wasn’t upset. In fact, her composure was as flawless as ever. Kelisian’s heart ached at the thought of how much she’d learned to suppress. 

“I should’ve known not to push you three away,” Padme said with a melancholy smile. She lifted her gaze to Kelisian’s. “I thought you would pry or, worse, judge me for this.” She held up her left hand, upon which there was no ring. “For all of it,” Padme murmured.

Sarenee met Kelisian’s eyes. She was maintaining the guise of being unwed, despite her obvious condition. She was going to such lengths to protect Anakin that it made Kelisian want to slap the man in the face for being so conspicuous. His wife was willing to sacrifice everything so he could achieve his dreams, while he took the front door out of her bedchamber nearly every night. Every one of Padme’s attendants knew of the affair by now. It was out of sheer respect for their Queen that the secret remained hidden.

“I hope it’s a girl,” Norephine said. A smile played at the corner of her mouth, but didn’t quite reach full brightness.

Padme shrugged a shoulder dismissively, but her cheeks turned pink. “I’m letting it be a surprise, but I get the sense that we’ll be welcoming a prince soon enough.” 

Norephine gasped softly, remembering something. She pulled her knees to her chest. “My friend from Corellia just had a little boy. I could ask her if she could tell before he was born.”

Padme smiled warmly. “I’m not sure if there’s a way to tell for sure without actually seeing a doctor, Nori,” she reminded her. Padme smoothed her skirts over her legs. “Well, now that the secret’s out,” she smiled, “I suppose we can have our traditional nightly discussions again.”

Kelisian sensed the melancholy in her tone and leaned her head on Padme’s shoulder sympathetically. When they were young, before secrets threatened their openness, the four girls spent hours gossiping on Padme’s oversized bed before going to sleep. When they first arrived, it had been nearly impossible for any of them to feel a sense of sisterhood with each other. 

Queen Padme Amidala, Senator of Naboo, the foundation of their friendship. It was her unique rise to power that demanded the creation of a new title of High Lady. She was the shot that heard across the galaxy as much as she was a young girl with more power than she knew or understood. She was hope and fear, maturity and naivete. No one dared guide her, for her genius was no secret. Instead, all anyone could think to do was ensure she was not lonely in her journey. 

“I remember when I first met you,” Sarenee said with a smile. Her eyes softened with nostalgia. “You were so young, but I thought you were all grown up.”

Padme laughed warmly. “You were eight, I remember. I thought you hated me at first.”

Now Sarenee was laughing. She brushed a segment of wavy golden hair behind her shoulder with grace. “I learned how not to look angry all the time while living with you. You always seem so content.”

Studying the blonde sitting across from her, Kelisian struggled to unite the face she could read like an open book with the snobbish eight-year-old she’d met on the platform on Naboo. She was a young woman now, wearing a dress that appeared to be made of pale pink satin and deep crimson flower petals. On her head was a crown of pearl and rose gold, tucked neatly between two golden braids. Her Sunlit Duchess Sarenee of the Noble House Slandor, Counter-Princess of the West, Lady of Dawn and Sacred Melody: sleep-talker, shameless charmer, collector of pretty boys. Under the doll face was a mind that functioned far more rapidly than she was given credit for, a heart that she worked hard to ignore most of the time. In the hands of the Ladies surrounding her now, she was a flower on the edge of blooming. She burst into full life and color when and only when she received gentle care. As marble-smooth as she appeared, Sarenee needed softness. She didn’t need a chisel-- she thrived, bloomed, glowed when given love.

“On second thought,” Sarenee paused, “I’ve been told I haven’t fully recovered from resting-angry-face syndrome.”

“Yeah, by me,” Norephine teased her. She shoved Sarenee playfully. “Especially in the morning. You look like you’ll strangle me if I yawn too loudly.”

Kelisian laughed. “Or she’ll throw her slipper at you again.”

Sarenee rolled her eyes and leveled a glare at Kelisian. “That was one time.”

Padme laughed in shock, laying a hand on Norephine’s knee. She studied the youngest Lady with humor and fascination. “When was that?”

Norephine launched into the tale with no small amount of animation. Her flair for theatrics came in handy when it came to telling stories. In all the years Kelisian had known her, Norephine had harbored surprising amounts of passion beneath a daydreaming exterior. She’d been introduced as Crown Princess Norephine Ellestra, heiress to the Corellian kingdom of Leela. One night, while sharing stories on Padme’s balcony after dessert, her silence had been broken by a skinny arm lifting to point skyward. She picked out a moving violet speck among the constellations and explained that the light emanated from a beta radiation engine, which was the only kind of engine she had never quite mastered building. She unfolded in waves, in periods of silence and sound, in energy and lethargy. Her odd, iridescent tresses had always amused Kelisian for their reflection of their owner. Even the fabric of Norephine’s gown shifted between a lavender so faint it blended into her skin tone and dusty violet, thickening in shades as it folded and twisted around her torso and flowed into the waves of her skirt. 

It was the nighttime discussions that revealed their true natures, the girls beneath the titles. The silken genius of Padme Amidala, the titanium rosebud that was Sarenee Slandor, the ambition beneath the fantasy of Norephine Leela.

Padme tucked Kelisian’s braid behind her ear with a touch so light it was almsot blush-worthy. Kelisian returned to the moment at hand with an embarrassed smile. The women before her were unique children no more. Kelisian was looking at her three best friends, each of whom made her own place in a universe that tried its best to categorize her.

“And you, Princess Kelisian of Anaxes,” Padme said with a warm smile, “my favorite empath. What have you gotten up to while I’ve been distant?”

Kelisian was taken off guard by Padme’s kindness. It disarmed her to the point that the only thing she could think to say was, “I’ve fallen in love.”

Padme gasped with joy. Across from her, Norephine and Sarenee’s lips parted in shock. They exchanged a look Kelisian had seen them both wear before, but she didn’t want to address it now. Not when they were finally reconnecting after a summer of separation.

“With who?” Padme asked excitedly. As soon as the question was out of her mouth, her expression clouded. She rested her hand on Kelisian’s. “Don’t tell me it’s that Corellian mechanic again. I haven’t forgiven him yet.”

“Me neither,” Sarenee muttered with a pointed look at Kelisian.

Kelisian stuck her tongue out at her.

“Ervane isn’t my favorite, but leave Corellia out of it,” Norephine interrupted with a roll of her eyes. “That’s my planet.”

“Really?” Sarenee asked with a tone that gave away the sting that was to come. She smirked at Norephine and swatted at a fold of her gown. “You’ve done a hell of a job ruling it.”

Norephine scowled, and Kelisian feared she was about to walk right into Sarenee’s trap. “You know that’s not my fault. The Royal Board won’t let me or either of my sisters use our power. They’re milking Corellia for all it’s worth.”

Sarenee’s cough sounded oddly like, “ _ Puppet princess _ .”

“Anyway,” Padme said with a warning tone. She focused again on Kelisian, her eyes softening. “This Ervane. Ervane Aislandor, if I remember this right. He’s the one you love?”

Kelisian’s face heated at the truth from Padme’s lips. There was no denying it when someone else said it out loud. “Yes,” she agreed. Kelisian pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I know what you’re going to say, but I haven’t told him how I feel yet. I learned my lesson from the last time.”

Norephine explained the events of the night before while Kelisian interjected with the occasional correction. They had walked home instead of taking the shuttle. The second time their hands brushed, Ervane hadn’t missed the opportunity to take Kelisian’s hand. He didn’t release it until they reached the Ladies’ suite, and he only let go to brush an eyelash off her cheek. Kelisian’s pulse accelerated at the very thought. It was then, watching his expression shift with gentleness, the roughness of work-worn hands on her skin, that she knew for sure. She loved him again. She wasn’t sure if she had ever truly stopped.

“We were literally right behind the door,” Norephine burbled. She was so excited that her hands’ motion made the mattress move beneath her. “I’m still surprised he didn’t kiss her right there.”

“It wouldn’t be proper,” Sarenee reasoned. Despite her logical tone, Kelisian spotted a blush in her cheeks.

Norephine scoffed. “Forget ‘proper’. You saw how he kissed her hand before she came in.”

Padme lifted a hand to her mouth in elated surprise. She beamed at Kelisian. “He kissed your hand?”

“Yes,” Kelisian replied with a shake of her head. “He tried to follow proper etiquette, too. I let him lift my hand up instead of kneeling to the floor, but he did his best. I don’t think he attended finishing school, so I’ll forgive him that error.”

Padme scoffed in disbelief. “How did you three keep this from me? You know how I adore a love story.”

“Especially forbidden ones,” Norephine jabbed.

Sarenee shot her a glare that could have melted iron.

Whether out of politeness or some other influence, Padme didn’t ask further about that comment. She kept her focus on Kelisian and her hand on her knee. “You really do have the worst luck with that, don’t you? The princess and the scoundrel.”

Kelisian laughed to herself, but there was a trace of sadness in the sound. “I think I must be cursed. I only ever fall in love with boys who will do more harm than good.”

Before Norephine could make another ill-advised comparison to Anakin, Sarenee put a hand on her shoulder. She looked like she was physically holding her back from speaking out of turn again. Nori scowled, but followed the silent order.

“You’re a giver,” Padme pointed out. “I’ve always seen that plain as day. You’re so much more ready to see the good in people than the bad.”

Norephine conspicuously turned her attention to Sarenee. Sarenee didn’t meet her gaze.

Kelisian’s cheeks heated. “Stop being so kind to me. We’ve been awful friends to you ever since the end of summer.”

Padme waved a hand dismissively. “All of us have had our own struggles recently. For example, I’ve been told Nori hasn’t slept through the night in recent weeks.”

Norephine’s eyes widened.

Kelisian gave a nearly imperceptible shake of her head, a silent plea not to let on to Padme where she was sneaking off to by night. If the bruises on her arms hadn’t given away her secret already, a spoken admission would put Anakin in hot water with his wife.

“I’ve been sneaking out to see Lysadora,” Norephine said. At the very mention of her name, her cheeks turned blossom-pink.

Kelisian’s sigh of relief was masked by Padme’s groan of disgust.

“Not Senator Frane,” Padme said with a warning look.

Norephine’s eyes went wide with apprehension. “I-- yes. Senator Frane is who I’m talking about. Is there something wrong with that?”

There was such hope in her voice that Padme hesitated to respond to her. She glanced to Kelisian for guidance, but Kelisian could only provide her with a hopeless shake of her head. Norephine was unable to speak of the other Senator without going pinker than Sarenee’s gown. Any counsel to Lysadora’s detriment would fall on deaf ears.

Padme sighed and shook her head. “It’s nothing of importance. It’s just that Senator Frane is the only political acquaintance I have. She refuses to make her allegiances clear, no matter how I attempt to seduce her into friendship.”

“Norephine would love to help seducing her in other ways,” Kelisian teased her.

There was that blush she’d thought of a moment ago, spreading across Norephine’s cheeks. Nori buried her face in her hands to hide it.

Padme laughed good-naturedly. She smoothed a stray segment of Norephine’s hair and lifted her chin. “I won’t dissuade you, my friend. You’re not the first to become entangled with someone less-than-perfect.” She nudged Kelisian.

Kelisian scoffed in mock offense. “Hey,  _ I  _ think Ervane is flawless, thank you very much.”

“Your taste concerns me,” Sarenee replied disdainfully.

A knock came on the door to the bedroom. “My Queen?”

“Come in,” Padme called back. She straightened her gown, and the other three Ladies followed suit.

The door opened, and a sentry-guard stepped inside. His cobalt uniform gave away that he had escorted Padme from Naboo, so it was likely that she was, indeed, his Queen.

Upon seeing the Ladies sharing the room with Padme, the sentry snapped to attention. “My ladies,” the guard said with a short bow. He gestured to Kelisian. “Coincidental to see you, Lady Qar-Maksis. Someone is here to see you-- a man by the name of Ervane Aislandor.”

A collective gasp rose up from the three girls. Sarenee, Padme, and Norephine stared obviously at Kelisian, not bothering to hide their eagerness.

Kelisian simply nodded politely, masking her elation, and made her way to the end of the bed. The guard offered a hand to help her get to her feet, then made his exit. The door closed with a thump behind him.

The silence did not last long. 

“I want to see him,” Padme said.

Norephine giggled and scooted toward the side of the bed. “You’ll understand when you do.” She offered a hand to Padme to aid her.

Padme rose from the bed, leaning slightly on Norephine’s arm to maintain her balance. Sarenee stood up from the other side, approaching from behind Kelisian.

There was no use trying to change their minds. It was hard enough convincing one of them on her own. Together, there would be nothing Kelisian could say to dissuade them. All she could do was minimize the damage.

She huffed reluctantly. “Do  _ not _ misbehave,” Kelisian ordered them.

“We promise,” Sarenee nodded. The moment Kelisian turned her back, Sarenee whispered to the other two, “We promise to cause trouble, that is.”

Kelisian rolled her eyes and walked toward the exterior door. The hallway outside was as far as Ervane could come without express permission from Padme herself. Sarenee, Norephine, and Padme lined up on one side of the doorway. Sarenee nodded for Kelisian to open the door and speak to her admirer.

With a sigh, Kelisian did so.

Ervane waited outside in his work shirt and cargo pants. His hands were still stained with dark grease, but his face was clean. Judging by the lingering moisture in his eyebrow, he’d washed himself up just a moment ago. Kelisian’s heart skipped a beat as she wondered if he’d cleaned up just to see her.

He smirked at Kelisian like she was the one calling on him. “Hello, Lisia. Can I steal you away for a moment?”

Kelisian felt the door being pulled open out of her hand before she saw who was moving.

“For what purpose?” Padme inquired, stepping into Ervane’s view. 

Kelisian tucked her hair behind her ear to disguise her embarrassment. She felt like a child being let out to play.

Ervane, on the other hand, did not hide his surprise well. His jaw dropped at the sight of the Senator, and he gave a sloppy bow. He did not rise to a standing position again as he addressed her by more titles than he needed to. “Senator Amidala. Queen. Majesty. Highness.”

“You can stand up now,” Kelisian whispered.

Ervane did. His face was flushed. “I didn’t know you would be here.”

“In my quarters?” Padme inquired with an arched brow. She was really leaning into the queen persona, which would have been humorous if it wasn’t Kelisian’s companion she was teasing. As proof to her theory, Kelisian could see Norephine and Sarenee quivering with silent laughter on the other side of the door.

Ervane struggled to find an answer, but Padme granted him mercy. A smile teased her lips. “Lady Qar-Maksis, you may go with him. Be back before the gala tonight.” Padme stepped away from the door and allowed Kelisian to pass through.

Kelisian murmured some formal thanks and left the suite as quickly as possible.

“That was interesting,” Ervane said.

“To say the least,” Kelisian agreed.

They made their way down the sunlit hall, Ervane leading Kelisian. He didn’t seem to have a destination in mind, so Kelisian guessed he had something to tell her. 

“What brought you to our suite?” she asked politely.

Servants and attendants to Senators entered and exited the hall periodically. Ervane slowed his pace, but did not stop. “I wanted to thank you for allowing me to accompany you last night. I had a really nice time.”

Kelisian beamed. “I did, too. You make a fine gentleman, when you try. Your attempt at fine manners brought a smile to my face for the whole evening.”

“I’d love to make you smile all the time,” Ervane countered with a confident smirk.

Kelisian’s heart sped up. He knew what that look did to her.

“Unfortunately, I can’t always do that,” Ervane continued. His smile faded. “Which brings me to the bad news.”

He stopped his motion so he could face Kelisian fully. His stance, coupled with the grave expression on his face, told Kelisian everything she needed to know. 

She frowned and smoothed a wrinkle on the front of Ervane’s work shirt. “What’s wrong?” she inquired softly.

Ervane shook his head. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, they held a solemn stare. “What do you know of Darth Sidious?”

Kelisian made a face. She didn’t even know Ervane was aware of the threat he posed, since he spent all his time locked away in a ship hangar. Perhaps he knew that the danger was far closer than they were being told-- within the Senate itself. Sarenee was right. He had allies everywhere, and trust was a commodity not even the Ladies could afford anymore. 

Kelisian couldn’t let Ervane know what she and her friends had discovered. It had to remain between them. Kelisian erased the shock from her face and reworked her expression to be a mask of indifference. “Little. Why do you ask?”

Ervane cocked a brow. “You’re an awful liar, Lisia,” he whispered. His gaze dropped to his shoes, then returned to her eyes. “I won’t make you tell me what you know, although I’m sure it’s more than you should.”

Kelisian didn’t reply. Guilt tugged at her heart, thinking that was the first time she had lied to Ervane in all the days she’d spent with him. 

He let out a short sigh, his gaze darting around behind her as if searching for a spy in their midst. When he found none, he said, “Don’t say anything. Just listen. I don’t have time to go missing from the hangar without drawing someone’s attention.”

Before Kelisian could ask what he meant by that, Ervane pulled her into a hug. His arms were muscled, but did not hold her fast enough to be uncomfortable. In fact, Kelisian thought she could remain in his arms for a lifetime and never be bored of it. Without his eyes on her face, she allowed her emotions to return. Kelisian closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his arms around her, and she lifted her hands to press against his back.

“Agnamorus Leela is one of Darth Sidious’ spies,” Ervane whispered into Kelisian’s hair.

The spell broke. Kelisian’s eyes flew open, and she almost shoved free of Ervane, but his hold tightened. “ _ What _ ?” she demanded.

“Don’t pull away yet, it’ll look suspicious,” Ervane hissed. “And keep your voice down. We aren’t drawing attention.”

Kelisian stopped pulling away from Ervane and kept her nose pressed against the scruff on his neck. He smelled too nice for a ship mechanic. She shook free of those thoughts and asked, “What are you talking about?”

Ervane’s hold weakened around her. His hands slipped down to rest at the small of her back, just like last night at the opera house. “He dropped off his ship for cleanup and repair. I was removing a virus from the communications systems when I stumbled across encrypted messages.”

“You spied on a king,” Kelisian marveled.

“Don’t lecture me.”

She giggled. “I’m not lecturing you. I’m impressed.”

Beneath her hands, Kelisian felt Ervane’s laughter rumble in his chest. He kept explaining. “I couldn’t get through the incoming messages, but Agnamorus’ weren’t well-encrypted. He was talking to Sidious himself, or someone near him. He wants to eliminate Anakin.”

“Good luck with that,” Kelisian scoffed. “He’s the most powerful Jedi anyone’s ever seen, if the rumors are true.”

“They are, and Agnamorus heard them, too,” Ervane agreed. As someone passed them on the other side of the hall, Ervane stiffened. He rubbed a hand up Kelisian’s back, pretending to comfort her. Kelisian obliged with a feigned sob.

When they were out of earshot, Ervane tapped her back. “Nice acting.”

“Shut up,” Kelisian hissed. “What do we do?”

Ervane hummed. “Well, I’m going to try to make a second copy of those messages. You, on the other hand,” he released his hold on Kelisian as he thought about it. 

She wrapped her arms around her middle in an attempt to comfort herself. If Norephine’s father had come to the Senate to spy on Anakin, then he was treading dangerously close to his target. Agnamorus’ own daughter was best friends with Anakin’s secret wife, and that wasn’t even mentioning Norephine’s clandestine training sessions with him under cover of nightfall.

“You keep your head down and listen,” Ervane advised Kelisian. “I don’t want to be the reason you get hurt.”

Kelisian was shaking her head long before he finished talking. “No. That’s not happening. I’ve  _ been _ listening for too long, and I’m ready to do something about it.”

“Like what?” Ervane scoffed dismissively. “You’re a High Lady, not a Jedi.”

Kelisian put her hands on her hips. “Yes, of course. A High Lady who blew up a spaceship with her mind and saved your helpless behind, you’re very welcome--”

“Point taken,” Ervane surrendered. He studied Kelisian with no shortage of concern. “You’re an enigma, Lisia. I don’t know who’s protecting who.”

Kelisian dropped her hands from her hips as a smile appeared on her face. “Well, I do. It seems pretty clear that I’m the one of us who’s ready to take action, and you’re the one worrying about if I can handle it.”

Ervane’s smile made his eyes sparkle like sapphires. He smirked before he responded to Kelisian’s challenge. “Can’t I try to protect the woman I--”

The last word of the sentence didn’t need to be spoken to hit them both with its gravity. Kelisian took a step back from Ervane, heat rising to her cheeks. He looked equally shocked by what was almost said.

“We aren’t doing this,” Kelisian whispered. Her heart felt like it was going to punch right through her sternum, and she laid a hand over it to try and quell its beating. “You are so smart, Ervane, and I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us lately, but…”

“But what?” he pressed her. Ervane’s gaze was more piercing than ever as he took a step forward to make up for the one Kelisian had taken away from him. Hurt flashed in his expression as he demanded, “Do you love someone else?”

There’s that word he couldn’t say a few moments ago. Kelisian shook her head in disbelief. She took another step away from him. “I recently found out I have Force powers. Before that, my friends and I found out that the very galaxy we live in is threatened.”

“What are you getting at?” Ervane asked. He did not pursue her with another step, but his gaze was so longing that he might as well have tugged on Kelisian’s heart directly.

Kelisian summoned all her courage. “Now is not the time for you to practice your emotional literacy skills,” she said firmly. “I have bigger problems to deal with tonight than you and your commitment issues.”

Ervane stumbled back like she’d slapped him. He was silent for long enough that Kelisian thought the conversation was over, and she turned on her heel to leave. As much as it hurt her to think about it, she knew he might very well turn his back on her forever after this.

“Would you go to the gala with me?” Ervane blurted.

Kelisian stopped, turned, and stared openly. She waited for him to take it back, but he didn’t. Ervane just watched her, a look like enchantment on his handsome features.

“Say that again,” Kelisian dared him.

Ervane cleared his throat and obliged. “Lady Kelisian, I would be honored to attend the Senator’s Gala with you tonight. If you don’t have bigger problems to deal with, that is.”

Kelisian laughed in disbelief, but she didn’t leave. The thought of attending the gala with Ervane at her side sparked warmth in her heart. Still, she couldn’t resist a little flirting. “Wouldn’t I technically be bringing  _ you _ as  _ my _ date?” she teased him. “After all, I’m the one with a noble title.”

Ervane blushed just as deeply as Norephine and looked at the floor. “Yes, but I thought it would be improper to demand you bring me as your companion.”

“It would be,” Kelisian agreed. She crossed the distance back to Ervane until he looked up at her once again. He had looked so handsome last night that she could hardly wait to see what magic he stumbled across for an even more lavish party. She smiled playfully and kissed his cheek. “Let’s be improper together, then. I’ll see you outside the Ladies’ suite this evening.”

She departed before he could get another word out. Sarenee and Norephine would certainly have something to say about this.

When Kelisian made it back to the Ladies’ suite, Sarenee was alone in the Ladies’ room. When Kelisian returned, the blonde Lady explained, “Nori and Padme are in the other room getting ready together. I came in here to do my makeup.” A smile played across her face. “How was Ervane?”

Kelisian returned her grin. “He’s asked me to the gala. He’s meeting me outside the suite before we leave to make a plan.”

Sarenee rolled her eyes and faced her mirror again. “He’s a romantic under all that grease and grime. He came all the way up here to ask you on a date?”

Kelisian didn’t fall for her indifference for even a moment. Sarenee was only cold on the outside. Maybe that would work to her favor, because she would also want to hear the other, less endearing, news. 

Kelisian recounted what Ervane told her about Agnamorus Leela’s encrypted messages. Sarenee nodded thoughtfully as she perfected the curve of her eyeliner, but did not interrupt. When Kelisian was done, Sarenee turned to face her directly. Her expression was impossible to read.

“What are you thinking?” Kelisian inquired.

Sarenee bit her lower lip. “I’m thinking that we should tell Norephine the moment she comes back.”

“No,” Kelisian immediately said.

Sarenee scowled at the denial, but she didn’t get angry. Instead, she demanded, “Why not?”

“Because we’re going to a party, and I will not be the one to ruin her night,” Kelisian explained. Her voice was heated, but she didn’t allow her passion to turn her mood sour.

Sarenee shook her head, but looked at her mirror once again. She smoothed a lock of golden hair and said, “I will not keep secrets from my best friend.”

Kelisian was about to respond when the door cracked open. 

Norephine stepped into the bedroom with a smile lingering on her face. “Padme sent me to finish getting ready, but she’s definitely about to talk with Anakin again.”

Neither Kelisian nor Sarenee responded to her fast enough to disguise their prior conversation, and Norephine noticed. Her smile rapidly faded. “What is it?”

Kelisian stared daggers into Sarenee like she could force her to remain silent, but Sarenee wouldn’t meet her eyes. She was biting her lip and watching her music box winding itself on the surface of her vanity.

Norephine crossed to her own dresser and put in her earrings. “Either you tell me or I keep asking until you both lose your minds, so pick your poison,” she joked.

“Your father is working with Darth Sidious,” Sarenee said bluntly.

Kelisian shot her a glare. That could have been done with more grace.

Norephine turned around and stared at her in shock. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She narrowed her eyes like she was trying to see through a lie.

Kelisian hurried to soften the blow, knowing full well that hurting her feelings wouldn’t help anyone. “I know it’s hard to hear, Nori,” she said gently. Kelisian watched her friend’s face in the reflection of her vanity mirror.

Norephine closed her mouth, but didn’t seem convinced. She didn’t say a word.

“You can be angry, but we’re telling you the truth,” Sarenee pushed. She turned away from Norephine and continued braiding back her golden tresses. The plait on the side of her head facing Kelisian made it look like her hair was tumbling down from a waterfall crowning the top of her head. The formality of the events of the night would require her to wear her finest, so Kelisian suspected a real crown would soon join the one made of braids.

“Neither of you can prove that,” Norephine countered hotly. In the setting sunlight, her hair appeared more pink than silver. It almost matched the darkened shade of her cheeks.

Kelisian frowned. She turned to look back at Norephine with her brows drawn in confusion. “Yes, we do. Ervane discovered encrypted transmissions from him that mentioned plans to undermine the Senate’s power.”

“Since when is Ervane an expert in message decryption?” Norephine scoffed. “I taught him everything he knows,” she bragged. 

“Then trust in your own skill for teaching and know he learned well,” Sarenee countered. She looked at her hands in her lap, and Kelisian recognized her hesitation. After so many years of knowing her, that was one of her only tells. She was doubting herself.

Apparently, Norephine saw the sign as well. She tilted her head knowingly. “What is it?”

Sarenee met her eyes. “Your father believes eliminating Anakin is the only way onward. He says he’s too powerful to be left alive.”

Norephine’s expression clouded. “How- why would my father want Anakin dead? He’s no threat to him. I don’t think they’ve even met!”

“Exactly,” Kelisian interrupted. “Agnamorus has heard enough about Anakin to fear him. And Sarenee was right about what she said the other day. There’s no reason to fear people with lightsabers because they’re Jedi.”

“And they protect us,” Sarenee added. She was speaking slowly, as if she were talking to a child. “They protect us by eliminating threats from people like your father.”

Norephine’s scowl deepened. “My father is  _ not  _ an enemy of the Jedi,” she snapped.

Sarenee sighed, at her wit’s end with Norephine. She looked to Kelisian like a weary mother. “Lisia, do you want to explain this to her?”

“Explain  _ what _ ?” Norephine interjected.

Sarenee’s expression hardened, and Kelisian grimaced in advance. Whatever she was about to say was probably ill-advised, if Kelisian was right.

“Kelisian and I can do things you can’t,” Sarenee said flatly. She leaned forward, ring-encrusted hands resting on the cushion below her. “I can convince people to do whatever I please, and Kelisian blows up spaceships with her mind.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Norephine interrupted passionately, her gaze flickering between Kelisian and Sarenee. 

“You’re too close to Agnamorus to see him as clearly as we do, and I think you should trust our Force-sensitive instincts where your normal ones are failing you,” Sarenee finished. She didn’t turn away from Norephine.

Kelisian was right. Sarenee had cut too deep.

Norephine gritted her teeth. “So you’re smarter than me now, too?”

“I didn’t say that,” Sarenee retorted. “I said we can do things you can’t--”

“You don’t know better than me because you have Force powers!” Norephine exclaimed before Sarenee could finish her sentence. Her voice trembled dangerously, and Kelisian wondered if she was about to cry. Her heart ached. Norephine never cried unless something was very, very wrong.

Sarenee stood and crossed her arms. Her crown of pearls glinted like treasure in the golden light of the Ladies’ suite as she raised her chin. “We’re telling you the truth, Nori. It’s not our fault you don’t want to hear it.”

“I know you must be feeling a lot of things” Kelisian added. She hoped she could soften the sting of the truth, since Sarenee had apparently gone for the ‘cold, hard truth’ approach. Kelisian’s jewel-encrusted train tinkled across the marble floor like music as she rose from her stool and approached Norephine, hand extended.

Norephine stepped away from her. She didn’t speak, but her motion sent a clear message that Kelisian was to keep her distance. Nori didn’t want her comfort.

Sarenee sighed, uncrossing her arms. Perhaps even she was doubting her bluntness. “I’m sorry,” she admitted. Her voice was soft with genuine sympathy. Sarenee’s green eyes glinted like emerald wine in contrast against her rosy gown and cheeks. “Agnamorus is part of the Dark Side. He’s lying to you.”

Norephine looked between Sarenee and Kelisian like a spooked animal. She took a short breath and said, “I need to go.” With that, she lifted the front of her gown and strode toward the door.

“Nori,” Kelisian called, stepping after her. She reached out for her friend’s wrist, but didn’t make contact. Norephine whirled, her iridescent hair gleaming a shell-shocked shade of pink. She flung a hand out at Kelisian like she was pushing her back through the air.

An invisible gravity pulled Kelisian away from Norephine. Kelisian stepped back to maintain her balance, but her heel caught in the train of her skirt. Her heart leapt into her throat as her knees buckled. She tumbled to the floor. Her weight crashed down on her hands and knees, and a few stray beads snapped free of her train.

No one spoke for a breath. Norephine didn’t even pull the door open any more, staring in shock at Kelisian on the ground. Kelisian tried to rationalize what had happened, but there were no answers to come to. While Norephine’s telekinesis wasn’t at the level of Kelisian’s own, the skill existed in her after all.

Before anyone could speak, Norephine darted through the door. The hem of her skirt caught under the corner and ripped with a heart-wrenching scraping sound. Amethysts spilled across the marble in her wake, torn from the fabric of her dress. Her footsteps faded into silence, punctuated at their end by the slamming door.

Sarenee sighed. As the tension in the room ebbed, she extended a hand to Kelisian. “Come on,” Sarenee beckoned her softly. “Let her go. You know how she is.”

Kelisian knew Sarenee was referring to Norephine’s moods and how they were best handled by leaving her to her own devices. Although she was better at being cheered up as a child, she’d outgrown that tendency. In recent years, Norephine was so averse to being coddled that she rarely even accepted comfort when it came. 

Kelisian was reluctant to let her go, even though she’d learned Norephine’s habits. While Kelisian knew Sarenee was right to leave Norephine her space, she still wanted to help. 

Sarenee tried a different approach when Kelisian didn’t reply to her. “Padme will be worried if we’re late,” Sarenee reminded Kelisian. She knelt and pulled Kelisian to her feet again. “We can cover for Norephine so she won’t draw suspicion. She won’t want Padme to worry about her. She has enough to think about.”

“Of course,” Kelisian agreed. Her voice trembled, which she attributed to remaining surprise at Norephine’s sudden telekinesis. 

Kelisian extended her hand for comfort, and Sarenee took it. 

She gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “She’ll be fine,” Sarenee assured her.

Kelisian smirked. “Remember that time she disappeared for a week without telling us because she tried to join an intergalactic circus?”

Sarenee laughed. She walked toward the door, guiding Kelisian to the gala. “Padme wasn’t even angry, after Nori showed her how to do that bone-breaking trick.”

Kelisian shook her head good-naturedly. The sound of people talking down the hall lifted her spirits. If history was any indication, Sarenee was right. Norephine would be fine. She wouldn’t want to spend her night worried.

There was only one more thing to think about: her date. “Do you promise to dance with me if Ervane isn’t outside our door in a moment?” Kelisian asked with an exaggerated pout. She gave Sarenee her widest, most endearing eyes.

Sarenee let out a long-suffering sigh, but Kelisian recognized the humor in her eyes. Sarenee moved back to her vanity and sat, locating her crown. “Only if you help me sneak as many party favors out of there as we can fit in our pockets.”

“It’s a deal,” Kelisian giggled. She approached from behind Sarenee and rested her hands on her shoulders.“Let me put your tiara on, my Lady.”

Sarenee rolled her eyes, but Kelisian saw her smile in the reflection of her vanity mirror.


	9. mad world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Norephine confronts her father about his allegiances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There may not be underwear in space, but at least the dresses have deep pockets.

Standing on one of the balconies above the gala floor, Norephine debated joining the festivities. She saw Sarenee, Padme, and Kelisian below, mingling with the crowd, but there was no empty space calling for her. In fact, the space at Kelisian’s elbow was occupied by a handsome man Norephine belatedly realized was a cleaned-up Ervane. He was smiling every time Kelisian looked away from him.

Norephine finished composing a message to her father and closed her hand. She would determine the truth before this night was over, one way or the other. She would prove Sarenee and Kelisian wrong for assuming such awful things about her father.

Norephine crossed her arms and waited for a response. The cool lavender silk of her gown wrinkled against her forearms like living flower petals. When she had first put the dress on, Padme had told her she looked like the princess she truly was. Norephine had agreed, but her mind had since changed. The delicate lace that flicked out at the tops of her shoulders no longer made her feel magical, but childish. The blossoms adorning the bodice gave off a fragile, almost infantile impression. Not even a regal V-neck could rescue the gown from feeling too young for Norephine.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft laugh from behind her. 

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Lysadora said good-naturedly. She joined Norephine at the balcony railing and gave her gown a once-over. Norephine prepared for the incoming comment about how childish she looked, but Lysadora just said, “You look beautiful.”

Norephine scoffed in disbelief. She swept at the airy fabric of the flowing skirt as if to prove a point. “I look like I’m ready to go to my tenth birthday party,” she muttered.

“No, you don’t,” Lysadora dismissed her. She took Norephine’s hands and tugged lightly, rotating her to face front. Given a new vantage point, Lysadora studied the dress more intently. She still didn’t let go of Norephine’s hands. “You look like you might have been born in a blooming lily belle,” she smiled. “Like you’ve been kissed by star-magic.”

Norephine’s cheeks flamed. This was a game for Sarenee and Kelisian, not for her. She didn’t have the vocabulary for flirtation. Norephine avoided Lysadora’s eyes. “You’re far too nice to me to not be social-climbing.”

“Please,” Lysadora scoffed. She let go of Norephine’s hands and waved a hand to clear the very idea from the air. “I don’t need an incentive to be mad for you.”

Norephine’s eyes went wide with surprise and delight. “You-- you’re--”

“Don’t freeze up on me now, sleepwalker,” Lysadora teased her warmly. She nudged her shoulder and made a move for the stairs to the gala floor. “Now come on, we have a party to attend.”

“I’m not going.”

The words left Norephine’s mouth before she could think about them. She hadn’t even known she’d reached a decision until the words were spoken, but there was no doubting them. Norephine knew, without a doubt, that she would not be dancing the night away. Not even with the girl in an ivory gown whose eyes went heavy with concern as she returned to Norephine.

“You’re already here,” Lysadora murmured, voice wrought with confusion. “Where else do you have to go?”

Norephine thought over the lies she could tell, but there was no point anymore. Not with Lysadora, who’d seen through her avoidance from the start. “My friends and I got into an argument over a rumor they heard,” she admitted for the first time out loud. “They think my father is working with Sidious to undermine the Senate.”

Lysadora shook her head in disbelief. “There has to be some other explanation,” she said evenly. She smoothed the fabric of her gown like she could just as easily smooth over Norephine’s troubles. Norephine wished that were true.

“I agree,” Nori replied. “I’m going to go talk to him. Before these rumors can take root.”

Lysadora’s brows drew together, a line forming between them. “Norephine, remind me what your father’s name is.”

“Agnamorus Leela,” Norephine responded offhandedly. 

Realization flooded Lysadora’s eyes. “Nori,” Lysa pleaded. She scooped up Norephine’s hands again and held them tightly. Her brown eyes brimmed with concern. Sparkling silver strands were intermingled with her golden hair, giving her the appearance of some industrial angel. She wore no crown, but her hair was regal enough without one. “I know you’re angry with your friends, and you deserve to be, but this is an unequivocally bad idea.”

Norephine’s expression clouded. “What makes you say that?”

Lysadora swallowed hard and released Norephine’s hands. She thought over her next words carefully, but settled on, “I never advocate for impulsive confrontation.”

Norephine knew she was right, and nothing good had ever resulted from her flying off the handle. Except, of course, for the bone-breaking she learned from the circus. Still, she didn’t respond to the Senator’s pleas. Norephine remained quiet, her arms crossed firmly over her chest. She picked absently at the delicate lilac blossoms that made up her sleeve, focusing more on the lifelike texture of the satin petals than on Lysadora’s pleading eyes.

“Please, just come to the party with me,” Lysa said. Her voice was gentle, and her smile grew gracefully with each word. “We’ll dance together, and I’ll sneak you the party favors only the Senators are supposed to keep. We can even sit out on the balcony if you want.”

Norephine’s heart skipped a beat looking at her. Lysa was so pretty that it almost hurt to watch her smiling, let alone when that smile was aimed at Nori. Norephine snapped out of her reverie and shook her head. “No, I have to go find him. I have to prove them wrong.”

What Sarenee had said about her father, what Kelisian had reinforced, was more than Norephine knew how to process. Her father had been the only parent she’d ever really known, for all his quirks. The idea that he could be so easily manipulated into evil made Norephine doubt everything he’d ever done or said. It pulled on the loose string holding her life together.

Norephine made a move to turn around, but Lysa caught Norephine’s wrist before she could escape. “What if they’re right, Nori?” she asked, voice wrought with concern. “What if your friends were trying to protect you, in their own way?”

Norephine shook her head again, even more sharply. “They can’t be right, and I don’t need protectors. I need friends.”

“They are your friends, starling,” Lysadora smiled. She tucked a stray curl of lavender-white hair behind Norephine’s ear. “You can’t blame them for trying to keep you safe. I’ll bet you’d be even angrier if they’d lied to you about what they learned today.”

Lysa reached up and touched Norephine’s cheek. Norephine leaned into the contact, her eyes drifting closed. Staying here with Lysadora was so tempting. They would dance, like she said, and there would be no talk of deception or lies. It would be a happy night.

“It’s hard to see things like that from close up,” Lysa murmured. Her thumb stroked Norephine’s cheek lightly. It felt like she was brushing away invisible tears. “You don’t look at people in search of their sharp edges. That’s the best thing about you.”

Norephine opened her eyes. Her gaze lingered on Lysa’s shoulder. She knew she wouldn’t be able to say what she needed to if she looked her in the eyes. “I can’t stay.”

Lysa pulled her hand away. “I know,” she whispered. “I know you can’t.”

Footsteps approached from behind Norephine, and both women looked in their direction as a blond man reached the top of the stairs. Norephine barely contained a laugh of shock as she recognized him as Grayle Andorra. 

He, too, did a double take when he saw Norephine. His eyes lingered on her hair, piled in ornate, iridescent braids at the top of her head. She didn’t understand why until he pointed a finger at her in recognition.

“We met at the opera house, didn’t we?” Grayle asked uncertainly.

Norephine nodded politely and gave a shy curtsy. She wasn’t sure if Grayle’s position warranted one. “I’m Norephine Leela. You collided with my friend Sarenee last night.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Norephine realized her mistake.

Grayle’s blue eyes widened. “I’m sorry-- what’s your friend’s name again?”

Norephine had a split second to consider her options. She could cover for Sarenee and lie, or she could force her to reckon with her past. Still a little upset about Sarenee’s rudeness in their bedroom, Nori settled on the latter.

“Lady Sarenee Slandor,” Norephine said innocently. She went to the balcony beside Lysadora and beckoned Grayle to join her. “She’s here tonight, if you feel the need to apologize.”

Grayle stepped up to Norephine’s side and followed the line of her finger to Sarenee. She wasn’t hard to spot, a beam of pearl and rose in the midst of the velvet-dark masses. She and Padme were clinking glasses of non-alcoholic bubbling cider, stealing conspiratorial looks at Kelisian and Ervane on the dance floor. Padme laid a hand on Sarenee’s arm and whispered something in her ear.

“The girl with the tiara?” Grayle confirmed, with no small amount of surprise. “With Senator Amidala?”

Norephine nodded in assurance. The golden crown tucked into Sarenee’s hair sparkled under the crystalline chandeliers, one of which hovered in midair just meters in front of where Norephine stood with her two companions. Norephine recognized the music that floated up to the gilded ceiling, but she didn’t have the heart to go dance.

“I think I might go apologize in person,” Grayle murmured. He excused himself and left Lysadora and Norephine alone on the balcony.When he was gone, Lysa inched her hand across the balcony railing to brush Norephine’s.

Lysadora hadn’t yet given up trying to convince Nori out of her plan. “You could wait until morning and dance tonight,” she offered. There was a kind devotion in her dark eyes, a sort of unspoken plea, a promise that Norephine would hear even sweeter words if she stayed.

“I can’t,” Norephine murmured. She spoke softly, as if to lessen the blow of her denial.

It didn’t work as well as she had hoped. Lysadora’s gaze fell to the floor, but still she failed to disguise the hurt on her face. “Then I hope you find what you’re looking for,” Lysa responded quietly. She stepped away from the railing and turned away.

Norephine felt tugged toward her, and she took and uncertain step in Lysadora’s wake. “Lysa,” Norephine called urgently.

Lysadora paused and looked back at Norephine. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t leave, either. She was waiting for something.

Norephine opened and closed her mouth, searching for the right words. She couldn’t even think of one. Still, something deep in her chest begged her not to leave yet, made her want to run to Lysa and--

“I hope you have a good night,” Norephine said.

Lysadora’s face fell. She didn’t say anything else before continuing down the steps to the first floor. She left Norephine feeling strangely like she’d made a mistake, although she wasn’t exactly sure what she’d done wrong. All she could think was that, if she stood there any longer, she’d go chasing after Lysadora, and she’d never find her father before the night was over. Maybe, if she hurried, she could find out the truth and make it back in time for a dance.

Norephine swept her skirt out of her way and retreated from the balcony. The hallway outside was emptying rapidly, now that the party was in full swing. Norephine waited until no one was near enough to notice to begin running. Her father’s temporary chambers were at the other end of the Senate from the Ladies’ suite, and she had to get all the way back there before she lost her window of opportunity.

“Nori,” someone called from behind her. It wasn’t Lysa, so Norephine didn’t slow down. The voice didn’t give up, though. Running footsteps joined it and echoed down the hall toward her. “Norephine!”

Nori turned on her heel, prepared for a fight. Hadn’t she spoken enough for the day? She wanted nothing more than to dive into her bed and never rise again. “What?” she demanded impatiently.

She was not prepared to see Anakin running at her like she’d never seen him run before. The surprise was enough to knock the glare off her face. “What are you doing?” Norephine asked, brow wrinkled with confusion. Her voice had lost its edge.

Anakin reached her and slowed. He was trying not to look winded, but Norephine guessed he had run all the way down the hall to reach her. That was at least a hundred meters. Anakin righted himself with no small amount of effort. “Whatever you are about to do,” he said, as sternly as he could while breathing heavily, “don’t.”

And Norephine’s scowl returned. “You’re not my master,” she sneered. It took all her self-control not to point out that he wasn’t  _ anyone’s  _ master, but she was pretty sure he would make her pay for a comment like that in training.

Anakin tilted his head at her patiently. Norephine had seen Kelisian wear a similar expression, when Norephine was in a mood. Anakin was treating her like a child. “I never said I was, Lady Norephine, but I know an irrational plan when I see one.”

“From experience?” Nori jabbed.

“Yes,” Anakin nodded. A self-deprecating smile appeared on his face, as well. “Yes, absolutely.”

His admission of being in her place once probably should have made Norephine feel better. Instead, it only furthered her irritation. “I’m not you, Anakin,” she argued. “You don’t even know where I’m headed.”

“No, but I can see you’re wearing heels you can’t walk in,” Anakin observed. He coupled the observation with a point toward her shoes. When Norephine looked down, he lifted his finger and bopped her on the nose.

She swatted at his hand, but he’d pulled it away long before she reached him. A glare twisted her features. “You know, I didn’t bother telling Padme that you’re the worst keeper of secrets I’ve ever had the misfortune of encountering. Do you think we didn’t hear you come in the back passage to her balcony before the party?”

Anakin’s eyes widened, but Norephine didn’t allow him to respond. “I’ll have you know I was in that room mere moments before you were, and I let Padme think her secrets were safe.”

“Thank you,” Anakin begrudgingly said.

She scowled at him. “If we were on Corellia, I’d feed your liver to Nelameena’s beasts.”

Disappointingly, Anakin wasn’t fazed. Instead, he smirked. “No, you wouldn’t. Then who would tell you that there’s a gift for you in your turret hideout?”

Norephine kicked herself for ever telling Anakin that existed. It had spilled out while she was explaining to him that there was a better way into Padme’s bedroom that didn’t involve sneaking past the Ladies. “What do you mean, a gift? You’ve never given me anything but bruises for losing.”

“You’ll get worse than that if you go in hot,” Anakin pointed out. He smirked at her, frustratingly cocky. “The only times you’ve come close to winning our matches are when you keep a cool head. Now isn’t the time to forget that, even if you’re not headed for a fight.”

He was right. Norephine hated being wrong. She sighed reluctantly and crossed her arms. “I’m  _ not _ headed for a fight, thank you very much.”

Anakin didn’t seem to register the snark in her tone. He kept that knowing smile on his face. “You’re welcome in advance,” he said, taking a step away from her. “Try not to do anything stupid.”

“But I’m so good at it,” Nori said to his back. 

Anakin did not bother with an answer.

Norephine, left alone, realized that she didn’t have to do what anyone told her. She could go to the party after all and dance with her friends. She could steal a ship and go straight to Corellia. She could abandon that gift in her turret and never look back.

Instead, she swore under her breath and turned toward the elevator that led to the ground floor. She would go to the Ladies’ suite. Her curiosity always got the better of her.

The shuttle home was all but empty. Everyone from the Senate had long since departed for the gala. Norephine was glad for the solitude, because she didn’t want anyone giving her curious stares as she sat, un-ladylike, on the seat at the side of the shuttle car. 

When she reached her bedroom, she was unsurprised to see the wardrobe was slightly ajar. Anakin probably didn’t know how precisely Norephine replaced it, to avoid any repair droids trying to block off her hiding place forever. She braced herself with one foot on the end of her bed and her back against the wardrobe’s side. Bunching her skirts in her hand, she pushed as hard as she could against the mostly-emptied wardrobe. It let out a low creak as it scooted back by about a foot.

Norephine let out a breath and stood upright. Although the hole in the wall wasn’t exposed fully, it was just wide enough to allow room for Norephine to squeeze through. She’d been hiding in the secret turret for long enough that, even in the dark, she could find her way through the small corridor. Her hand trailed along the wall at her left until the side of the ladder hit her palm. She ascended the ladder as quickly as she could with her skirt in the way. The moonlight streamed in through the clouded windows at the turret’s top, dimly illuminating the small space as if it were suspended in a dream. There, resting on the floor just in front of the ladder, was a bundle of lilac satin.

At the top of the turret, Norephine let her legs dangle into the darkness while she pulled the bundle into her lap. It was nearly a foot long, but more narrow across. There was a sturdy weight to it as Norephine untied the twine around the satin. There was a burlap satchel hidden beneath the satin, far less easily overlooked in the chamber of a princess. When Norephine lifted it out from the softer material, her heart leapt into her throat.

She didn’t need to remove the object from the burlap to know what lay inside. Norephine couldn’t move, holding it in her hands. She could barely even breathe. Just under the fabric, she swore she could feel the coolness of metal, the sturdy strength of a weapon. There was no question.

Norephine didn’t want to receive a gift like this in private, all alone in a hiding place. She knew it was proper to do so, but nothing about her and Anakin’s situation was at all proper. Instead, she quickly wrapped the purple satin around the burlap and tucked the bundle into her pocket. It didn’t fit perfectly, but the satin blended well enough into the color of her gown that no one would look twice.

If she found her father now, she’d have time to return to the party. Not only could she have a dance with Lysadora, but she could find Anakin and open the gift with him. It would be a good night after all.

Norephine smiled as she made her way back down the ladder. The unfamiliar weight of Anakin’s gift against her thigh made her heart race with every step she took. Still, she tried not to jump to conclusions. She wanted her surprise to be real when she found her friend again and thanked him until she was blue in the face.

A message from her father drew Norephine’s attention to her palm. Agnamorus was in the conference room at the far end of the hallway, which was strange, considering that everyone was gone at the gala by now. At least Norephine wouldn’t have to go far to find him. 

Norephine had hardly laid her hand upon her bedroom door when Anakin’s voice echoed in her mind, teasing her for the shoes she couldn’t walk in. She huffed in defeat and turned back to her wardrobe. After changing into more comfortable shoes-- flats with ribbons around the ankles-- she moved her wardrobe back into place. Norephine exited her bedroom after checking that the bundle in her pocket was disguised by the swishing material that constituted her skirt. Sure enough, the generous pockets were ample enough to hide the gift. She hurried down the hall to find her father.

Norephine realized as she walked alone down the empty hallway that she had never heard the Senate so quiet. Out of curiosity, Norephine stopped walking. After her footsteps stopped, the building was silent as death. It sent a chill down her spine, and she hurriedly resumed walking.

The room her father had directed her toward was one of the three with a balcony exit. Norephine had spent her share of time waiting in the hallway outside while Padme attended meetings in rooms like these. She wandered into the one on the far side of the hall and knocked on the open door. The soft sound pierced the silence with the sharpness of breaking glass.

“Dad?” she called, stepping into the conference room. The moon shone in through the tall windows and cast stripes of bluish light across the oval table. 

Agnamorus emerged from the balcony. The whirring of his hoverchair became louder once he was indoors. “Norephine, I’m glad you contacted me,” he said. He held out his arms, beckoning her to come hug him.

Norephine obliged. He was still wearing that sour scent that forced her expression to contort into a grimace. She couldn’t quite place the cologne’s inspiration, but she masked her disgust when she pulled away. “I was anxious,” Norephine admitted. “Times are difficult. If people have resorted to fearing the wrong leaders, then I want to ensure you are not in the firing line.”

“That’s a good girl,” Agnamorus praised her. He rotated his chair and led the way to the balcony, Norephine in tow. “Now, what do you mean about fear? Who’s afraid of me?”

Norephine bit her bottom lip and followed Agnamorus. The balcony overlooked the less-occupied side of the Senate, giving way to a beautiful view of the starlit sky and the moon-drenched building’s architecture. Norephine couldn’t pause to admire it. “Do you remember when I spoke to you about the spies here?”

“There are none,” Agnamorus scoffed. “And I told you so.”

“I know,” Norephine agreed. She approached from behind her father and kept her eyes downcast. “I believe you. But I wanted to inform you of the direction this gossip has been going in.”

Agnamorus looked up at Norephine. She hoped he was considering her statement and thinking over his response, but she was let down. Agnamorus simply clicked his tongue. “Your hair practically glows at night. Have you ever noticed that?”

Norephine’s eyes rose to meet her father’s, a scowl already forming on her face. She tried to suppress her irritation as she responded. “I have. But, Father--”

“I always read that firstborn children are supposed to resemble their father, but you took after your mother with that hair,” Agnamorus continued. He focused out on the horizon, not even bothering to meet Norephine’s eyes.

She grit her teeth and rested her hand on his shoulder. Still, he didn’t meet her gaze. “I’ve heard talk that you’re one of the spies working with Darth Sidious.”

A wave of silent compulsion washed into Norephine’s mind with such force that she had to grip the railing in front of her just to stay standing. Her voice was gone, or pulled away from her. She couldn’t force sound out.

“That’s a big accusation, Phine,” Agnamorus said. “Don’t tell me you believe that.”

Norephine opened her mouth, but nothing came from it. Her father was still holding her voice in a vise grip.

“I thought I taught you manners, and gossiping is one of the worst transgressions of them,” he said. He rotated his chair to face Norephine. “You shut down those rumors, didn’t you?”

Norephine didn’t want to attempt to speak again, just in case her voice was still silenced. Instead, she nodded.

“Good. You don’t understand the ways of politics, Phine,” Agnamorus said. Although his voice held traces of kindness, Norephine saw none in his eyes. “I raised you to be ladylike, to set a good example for your sisters. I know that didn’t exactly happen, but I tried my best. You were my only successful child, and you aren’t built for these conversations.”

Norephine remained at the railing as her father passed behind her. Although she didn’t want to think about it for too long, she couldn’t quite suppress the observation she’d made. Her father hadn’t denied it.

She didn’t believe any part of the rumor before. Not even the words straight from the mouths of Sarenee and Kelisian would deter her. Her father was the man who healed Nelameena’s injuries, who braided Nyrane’s hair, who raised Norephine with the skills she needed to be a Lady. Before this very moment, nothing could have convinced her to even question Agnamorus’ honor. But now, he was turning his lessons around to silence her, to convince her she didn’t know what she was talking about.

He raised a Lady, and Ladies didn’t stick their noses where they didn’t belong. Maybe that’s why he made sure to teach Norephine himself that she was safest when she didn’t ask questions or disobey. Raising his favorite daughter to be a Lady was the only way to ensure she wouldn’t get in his way.

“Father,” Norephine said. Her voice was hoarse. She resisted the urge to stop interrogating him, to roll over like always. Every cell in her body longed to retreat, but she wouldn’t, not today. Norephine held her ground. “Are you working with Darth Sidious?” she demanded once again. To her delight, her voice emerged with more bravery than she felt.

Agnamorus only laughed, but the sound rang hollow. There was no joy in the sound. “Are you accusing me of treason, Phine?” he demanded. His voice held an edge that warned Norephine that her inquiries were not innocent questions anymore. Although he smiled like she was entirely off base, there was a warning in his eyes. 

Norephine did not heed it. “I’m not accusing you, I’m asking you,” she maintained. It took all her nerve not to bow her head and back down. She held her father’s gaze and asked again, “Have you been working with the Sith?”

This time, Agnamorus did not laugh. He didn’t even smile. The utter coldness in his eyes sent a shiver down Norephine’s spine. It occurred to her, perhaps too late, that there would be no undoing these questions. Just by asking, she was letting on to her father that she no longer trusted him completely. She no longer believed him at his words alone.

“What would make you think that?” Agnamorus asked darkly. “Is it your friend again? That Kalissa girl?”

“Her name is Kelisian, and no,” Norephine snapped. “You know her name. Stop pretending not to.”

Agnamorus raised an eyebrow at Norphine’s sharp tone. He was not looking at her like his daughter anymore. Instead, Norephine felt more like prey under his glare. 

“Who else have you spoken to about this?” he hissed.

Norephine’s blood ran cold. “No one,” she said. She no longer made an attempt to sound brave. Norephine walked behind Agnamorus’ chair and made a hasty retreat to the door. She needed her friends.

“You are not a good liar,” Agnamorus sneered.

Before Norephine made it back inside, an unseen force slammed the doors shut in front of Norephine. She yelped in surprise and stumbled away from them. Her momentum carried her directly into another invisible wave of power, ushering her backwards until her back hit the railing. Norephine’s yelp turned into a shriek as the force did not let up and nearly sent her over the railing and into the sheer drop below.

Agnamorus launched out of his hoverchair. Norephine’s scream was cut short as her father’s hand closed around her throat. Something in her lungs pinched painfully. The force of his hand on her neck pushed her back, her torso almost entirely twisted over the metal bar. Something clanged onto the floor near Agnamorus’ feet. Ebbing from where Agnamorus’ hand crushed her windpipe was a spidering web of pain. Energy leaked out from every corner of her body and poured out like a siphon into her father’s hand. A faint white light accompanied the pain and slunk from Norephine’s throat all the way into Agnamorus’ chest.

Norephine kicked helplessly at Agnamorus as her lungs tightened. She couldn’t breathe at all, and her scream before his hand closed her throat had drained her lungs of air.

“You’ve always been clever, little Phine,” Agnamorus murmured. He sounded genuinely mournful. He released her throat with his hand, but an invisible grip kept any air from entering her lungs. “I told you when you were young that asking so many questions would only hurt you.”

Norephine grasped at her throat, but to no avail. There was nothing to claw at, nothing to pull free. Blood heated her cheeks. Her heart continued to pound, despite the fact that she already felt her pulse thundering in her face. The invisible grip on her throat shifted, pushed her higher, until the railing was no longer at the small of her back, but the backs of her thighs.

She wanted to be angry. She wished it was betrayal that made a tear slip down her cheek, but all Norephine could feel was terror. She kicked again at Agnamorus and made brief contact with his hip. He briefly released his hold on her, and Norephine dropped a foot through the air with a terrified scream. He caught her by the throat again with an unseen hand.

“You shouldn’t have come here alone, Phine,” Agnamorus tsked. “I thought I would have to capture you, get you away from those pesky Ladies, but you came home on your own. You know where you can help the most.”

_ Please, _ Norephine begged no one. Her mind screamed for help in every direction, on every possible frequency and wavelength.  _ I don’t want to die, please don’t let me die here, not like this, not with my father-- _

“I hope you’ve seen enough of those friends you love so much,” Agnamorus crooned. His boots clicked across the floor as he approached her once again. Norephine was pulled over the balcony once again, but the stranglehold didn’t let up. Agnamorus leaned in close to her, uncomfortably close. The smell of thick cologne would’ve filled Norephine’s lungs, should she have been able to breathe. “You won’t be seeing them again for a very long time. I don’t intend to lose my strength before this war begins, and you’re an endless battery. You’ll be my very own fountain of youth.”

Norephine’s stomach dropped with horror. The tales of how only Agnamorus could successfully get her to sleep by bedtime, the exhaustion she felt after leaving her visits with him. Everything fell together with a terrible obviousness that Norephine had never spotted before. She mentally kicked herself for overlooking the truth. 

Sarenee was right. Kelisian wasn’t lying. They were trying to warn her.

_ I don’t wanna say goodbye to them. _

Norephine’s gaze was washed in red. Her heartbeat thudded through her face. Norephine tried to look up, wriggling to let any shred of oxygen into her lungs. It didn’t work. The outermost wing of a violet galaxy was rising over the top of the Senate building. It shone with neon light, breaking through the crimson that drowned her vision. Norephine’s eyes closed against her will.

“You’re going to sleep all the way home. There’s a war coming, and I don’t want to worry about what you’re up to.”

Norephine couldn’t move to try and kick Agnamorus, so she focused on the only thought left in her mind. She focused until it was a fact and not a prayer.

_ I am not going out like this. _


	10. holding out for a hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarenee and Kelisian must put their skills to the test to rescue Norephine.

“You can’t hide from him forever.”

Sarenee took a deep sip of wine. “Watch me.”

Grayle had been tailing her all evening, ever since he’d come down the stairs onto the gala floor. Sarenee wasn’t willing to risk the chances of him realizing their history was far longer than he remembered.

Padme smiled and shook her head, but said nothing to dissuade her. Instead, she let out a warm laugh, and nodded in the direction of Kelisian. “She looks happy.”

Sarenee followed Padme’s line of sight to where Kelisian was conversing with a pretty brunette woman and a Senator Sarenee almost recognized, but couldn’t name. Ervane was at Kelisian’s side, nodding politely, but spending most of his attention on admiring Kelisian.

“She deserves it,” Sarenee said matter-of-factly. “You and I both know what she’s endured. She’s had her heart broken too many times.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Padme protested calmly. She leaned her head on the pillar her shoulder was pressed against. “Maybe just the right amount of times.”

Sarenee studied the woman opposite her with curious green eyes. She would have blamed her intrigue on the wine, if it hadn’t been the non-alcoholic kind she was drinking in solidarity with Padme. “What’s the right amount?” she asked.

Padme casually lifted a shoulder and dropped it. “Between naive and hopeless, I would say. I know that’s a wide range, but I think Kelisian knows both sides of love well enough to give it the way it should be given.”

Sarenee didn’t reply for a moment. Padme was a little older and wiser than her three Ladies, and Sarenee wasn’t incapable of putting her pride aside to receive good advice. 

Padme might not have been convinced of that, because she proceeded to hit her point on the head in the next sentence. “Maybe you have something to learn from her, Duchess.”

“There’s the truth,” Sarenee laughed. “Are you suggesting I get my heart broken so I can be nicer? I’m struggling not to be offended.”

Padme laughed and waved a hand to dismiss the idea. “No, of course not. If anything, I’m trying to compliment you.”

Sarenee preened. “Do go on, then.”

“I think you’ve been dealt a more uneven hand of cards as far as love goes,” Padme surmised. “I don’t know where you keep all that pain. Where Kelisian balances the sweet and the bitter, you’ve gotten quite a taste of the latter, and you’re still here. You still care.”

Sarenee shook her head. “I don’t care  _ that  _ much.”

“Whatever you feel comfortable admitting,” Padme shrugged. There was an element of teasing delight in her tone that brought the smile back to Sarenee’s face.

_ Not like this. Please, not like this. _

Sarenee visibly flinched at Norephine’s voice crashing through her mind. It overpowered the music, the laughter, and every other sound. It almost sounded like it was broadcast on its own wavelength.

Padme surged forward, laying a concerned hand on her arm. “What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly. She tucked a perfectly wavy lock of golden hair behind Sarenee’s ear. 

“I don’t know,” Sarenee whispered. The words were foreign on her tongue. 

A deathly chill crept up Sarenee’s spine. She felt her lungs tighten, her heart racing, but when she laid her fingertips upon her neck, her pulse was normal. Her body was picking up the signal of someone else’s fear.

Sarenee searched the crowd for Kelisian and found her surrounded by a clump of people.

Shockingly, Kelisian’s blue eyes were searching for hers, too. Sarenee didn’t need to be near her to know the awful truth. They both had heard it. Norephine’s voice, pleading, echoing in their mind like part of the song. Neither moved.

_ Father, please. _

Sarenee couldn’t ignore it that time. It was a voice she knew, the voice of the girl whispering across the bedroom when they were supposed to be sleeping. Norephine had never sounded like that before, scared and hurting.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Padme urged her.

Kelisian began pushing through the crowd to return to Sarenee and Padme.

Sarenee knew she needed to act now. The time for lying to her trusted friends had passed. She only debated for a moment before looking in Padme’s wide eyes and telling the truth. “Kelisian, Norephine, and I have been experiencing the symptoms of Force sensitivity for some weeks now. I just heard Norephine’s voice in my mind, and she’s afraid.”

Kelisian left Ervane at the dance floor and made her way to Padme and Sarenee. She reached the golden-lit hallway just as Padme processed Sarenee’s confession.

Her eyes darkened with concern. “Is she in danger?” she asked Sarenee. She didn’t stumble over the other information or the revelation she’d been deceived.

Sarenee and Kelisian exchanged a look of doubt. It wasn’t doubt over the correct answer, but hesitation to tell Padme what it was. They had both heard her mention her father, had both come to the harsh conclusion before Nori was willing to hear it. It had never been so frustrating to be correct.

Before either Kelisian or Sarenee could speak, Padme shook her head. “Don’t lie to me. I know you too well.”

Sarenee raised an eyebrow, but obliged. “We won’t. She’s probably in danger.”

“Almost definitely,” Kelisian put in.

Padme nodded rapidly, her expression morphing into one of deep consideration. Sarenee wondered, for a brief moment, if Padme would be shocked to know of Agnamorus’ true nature. “If this has something to do with… galactic safety,” Padme said, choosing her words carefully, “then I don’t want to delay you. I think we all might have kept more secrets than we should have.”

Sarenee didn’t need a translator. Again, a correct guess that didn’t taste sweet. Padme had known about Agnamorus for a while, and she hadn’t let her Ladies in on the secret. Now, that omission of the truth had lured Norephine into the jaws of the predator.

“You two go find her,” Padme said. “I’ll cover for you with all the necessary people. If you’re not back by tomorrow morning, I’m sending someone after you.”

There was no time to lose. “Thank you,” Sarenee said quickly.

Kelisian and Sarenee linked arms. Kelisian led the way out of the dance hall and into the corridor outside. “You heard her, too, right?”

“Yes,” Sarenee solemnly confirmed. “I assume her talk with her father didn’t go as well as she hoped it would.”

Kelisian swallowed hard. Her face was taut with guilt. “We shouldn’t have let her leave,” she said, voice saturated with regret. Kelisian rubbed her forearm anxiously and raised her chin in defiant certainty. “What are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Sarenee admitted. Her heart was being pulled downward. What she initially took for concern for her lost friend was beginning to seem like something else entirely. Something invisible, tugging her where she needed to go. “I think we need to retrace her steps. Do you happen to remember where Agnamorus’ quarters are? I’m sure she must have mentioned it to us once.”

Someone emerged from behind Kelisian, moving quickly. Sarenee almost yelped when Anakin appeared, looking grim. 

“You won’t find her there,” he said, out of breath. He put his hands on his hips and tried to catch his breath. “I didn’t realize how much running would be involved in helping you three.”

He’d eavesdropped, and Sarenee would have cared if she’d been in a less dire situation. “Why won’t we find her?” Sarenee asked, her expression contorting.

“Because Agnamorus took her,” Anakin said plainly. Despite the matter-of-fact way he said it, Sarenee could tell it was bothering him.

Sarenee and Kelisian exchanged a look of shock. “What do you mean, he took her?” Kelisian demanded. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

“I’m not accustomed to running headfirst into danger alone, unlike your friend Norephine,” Anakin countered. He crossed his arms defensively. “He took her downstairs and mentioned his ship. I think he’s headed back to Corellia.”

Sarenee shook her head, trying to piece together what she knew. “Agnamorus is definitely one of Sideous’ henchmen, and he came here to do… what, exactly?”

“Spy?” Kelisian inferred with a shrug. 

“But I’m sure other people could have done that,” Sarenee pointed out. “Agnamorus came, or was selected, because his daughter is one of Padme’s Ladies. We don’t know whether or not that has to do with his plan or if it’s his cover story, but he hasn’t been selling it very well.”

“What do you mean?” Anakin asked.

Sarenee gestured to him, as he was a perfect example. “Has Norephine mentioned spending time with her father to you at all?”

“No,” he shrugged.

“Exactly,” Sarenee said pointedly. “He hasn’t spent time with her since arriving.on Coruscant. Maybe she’s only incidental to his plan.”

Kelisian nodded, remembering a factor of her own. “She doesn’t know any sensitive information, at least--” she gestured to Anakin-- “none that her father knows about. She’s not exactly a threat to him. Norephine’s the only one of us who can’t use the Force.”

“Yet,” Anakin interrupted.

Sarenee wrinkled her nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I think she can,” Anakin shrugged. “But even if I’m right, she doesn’t know what she can do, and neither would Agnamorus, unless…”

“Unless?” Kelisian prompted.

Anakin’s expression tightened. He closed his eyes and sighed, as if he’d just realized something dangerous. “Unless she’s predisposed to a silent sensitivity, like Force healing or mind meddling, and Agnamorus has known about it since she was a child.”

“Would he have known and kept it secret?” Kelisian asked in a hushed tone. “It doesn’t seem very much like him not to brag on his favorite child. What would he stand to gain from keeping her in the dark?”

Anakin shrugged, lost for an answer. “Maybe he wanted a princess, not a Jedi. Or maybe he’s one of the many who view bodies as nothing but batteries waiting to be used up.”

Both Sarenee and Kelisian physically reacted to the suggestion. Sarenee’s hand went to her glittering necklace, and Kelisian’s jaw dropped open.

“You’re not suggesting he could drain her of her life force, are you?” Kelisian asked.

Anakin’s expression was grim. “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Especially if she’s Force-sensitive, too. It wouldn’t be hard for him to feed on her until there was nothing left.”

While Kelisian reacted to that, Sarenee began to piece together what she’d heard Norephine say before. “She says he always reads her mind,” Sarenee supplied, realization appearing on her face. “Lisia, when you were in that crashing ship with Ervane, Norephine heard you screaming, even louder than I did. Like it was in your head.”

Anakin nodded, confirming Sarenee’s fears. “Telepathy’s a door that goes both ways. If they’re not trained, anyone who tried hard enough could look inside a telepath’s head.”

Kelisian paled. “If Agnamorus is digging inside Norephine’s mind, do you think he knows about…?”

She didn’t dare speak the next part in the hallway, but she drew her finger between Anakin and where Padme was inside the ballroom. Everyone recognized that she was referring to the secret romance.

Sarenee swallowed hard. “If he doesn’t, he will soon.”

“We have to get her back,” Kelisian decided. She was already shrinking back, preparing to run to the hangar. “I’ll have Ervane ready a ship for us. We don’t have time to lose.”

Her footsteps receded around the corner. Sarene wondered if she was going to stop by the bedroom first to change, or if that violated her definition of necessity.

“You should go with her,” Anakin said. “I’ll make sure Padme’s all right.”

“I’m sure you will,” Sarenee said. What was left of her smile melted as she returned Anakin’s gaze. “I didn’t want Kelisian interrupting me. I haven’t gotten to speak to you in private.”

Anakin shifted uncomfortably. He probably hoped someone would come save him. “Speak to me about what?”

Sarenee smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I know you love Padme, enough to endanger a whole slew of people, but I needed to remind you of the danger you’re facing here.” Sarenee balanced herself on his shoulders and lifted on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “If you so much as make her cry a single tear, I will burn your balls over an open flame and feed them to wild dogs.”

With that, Sarenee settled back on her heels. Now her smile was real. “That’s all.”

Anakin grimaced. “That seems violent.”

Sarenee nodded in agreement. “I have a lot of repressed anger,” she admitted. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a damsel to rescue. Take care of my Queen.” 

Kelisian and Sarenee didn’t bother making a stop to change clothes as they followed Ervane to the docking platform. There wasn’t time to waste, especially not considering they were playing catch-up with Agnamorus now. Sarenee tried not to think about what would happen if the trail went cold. Anakin’s warning rang in her head: Norephine was nothing but a battery.

If only Sarenee’s friends were a little less important, they could be running down the corridor with her. There was no genius queen or chosen one at her side. Instead, her only allies in her perilous rescue mission were a scrappy pilot and the kind princess he adored enough to follow into battle. Sarenee prayed to whatever entities listened that they would be enough.

The loading bay was empty by the time they arrived. All the people who mattered were upstairs at the party, unaffected by the danger lapping at their heels. Sarenee didn’t understand why Ervane had stopped walking until he explained.

“I have no way of knowing where her father took her,” Ervane admitted.

“I thought Anakin said Corellia?” Kelisian inquired, a hand coming to rest on Ervane’s arm. “Can’t we just beat him there?”

Ervane shook his head, defeated. “We can’t know where on the planet he is, and guessing could cost us precious time. There has to be another way.”

First Kelisian, then Ervane turned to watch Sarenee. She was quiet, staring up at the sky above the loading bay. She refused to believe she’d lost control. She knew she had to have been given the clues she needed. All that was missing was the spark to make her mind connect the shards into a pathway.

And yet, no such spark came. The only light was the faint glow of the party above, shining into the slightly misty evening, and the energy trails of ships long departed. For all of a heartbeat, Sarenee doubted herself. It was entirely possible that she wouldn’t be quick enough to matter. The one moment that it would make a difference, she wouldn’t have her wits about her, and Norephine would be as good as dead.

The silence grew more awful, more dangerous, by the moment. Sarenee was about to groan in frustration when Kelisian pointed to her left and asked, “Do you see that?”

Sarenee and Ervane followed her pointing finger. There, leading off into the evening-dimmed sky, was a faint trail of magenta leading out into the stars.

“Yes,” Sarenee confirmed. She looked back to Kelisian, confused. “It’s an engine trail. We’re in the repair bay, there’s plenty of those everywhere.”

“No, there’s not,” Kelisian insisted. She followed the trail of the purple glow into the darkened sky with her fingertip. “That’s a beta radiation engine trail.”

Ervane looked at Kelisian with a proud smile. She didn’t look over in time to catch the expression on his face, but Sarenee made a mental note of it.

“Judging by the color grading, it’s recent,” Ervane added.

“Okay, but how do we know that’s the right trail to follow?” Sarenee inquired. Like she’d pointed out before, there were dozens of faint trails in every color of the rainbow. The majority were white or blue.

Ervane shook his head and rubbed his face anxiously. “You’re right, Lady Slandor. There’s no way to tell for sure.”

Kelisian didn’t falter. “Of course there is.” She turned back and locked her gaze on Sarenee. “Don’t you remember?”

Sarenee had no idea what she was talking about, but Kelisian didn’t seem to care. She looked up at the deep darkness and said, “Norephine told us the only engine she never understood was a beta radiation engine. She must’ve seen one up close, and--”

“They aren’t very common on Corellia,” Ervane finished. He offered Kelisian a smile full of hope. “Purple glow it is.”

Sarenee nodded. “All right. Let’s go save her.”

She made a move for the pilot’s seat on the nearest ship, but Ervane stepped in front of her. “You were drinking at that party,” he pointed out. “You aren’t getting us anywhere in your state.”

Sarenee scoffed. It had been a pleasantly long time since a man had tried to order her around, and she had been hoping for a new record. She crossed her arms and regarded Ervane with one eyebrow raised. “Not that it’s your business, but it was non-alcoholic wine.”

“Can you even pilot a ship like that?” Kelisian asked. Her tone wasn’t condescending, but curious; she had underestimated Sarenee before, and it hadn’t ended well.

Sarenee shrugged. “I like to think in terms of probability. For example, I’ve never  _ crashed _ a ship like this, so there’s no odds against me.”

“That isn’t how that works at all,” Ervane said quietly. 

Sarenee ignored him and skimmed the room for a ship that looked more familiar. She didn’t see anything that blatantly said ‘easy to fly!’, but she could make something work. She had been in stickier situations.

She hadn’t, but lying made her stay calm. If she wasn’t calm, she wasn’t logical.

“I’ll drive,” Ervane volunteered. “I have more licenses than both of you put together.”

Sarenee wanted to contradict him just to be spiteful, even though he was right. She held her tongue, with some difficulty. 

“I’m riding shotgun,” Kelisian said.

Sarenee lost her grip on her smart mouth. “Absolutely not,” she snapped. “I’m the one who pissed Nori off in the first place. I’m leading the way.”

“No, you’re sitting in the back, because you pissed Nori off in the first place,” Kelisian countered with surprising fervor. 

Sarenee was so stunned that she didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Ervane stepped in during the silence. “Lisia rides shotgun, because our date was interrupted. Sarenee, sit where you want.”

Sarenee let out a short huff, but Ervane was already walking away. She didn’t have much choice other than to follow him up into the ship’s seating area, holding her skirt in one hand. Ervane helped Kelisian into the ship behind her.

The ship was smaller than what Sarenee was accustomed to, and far less gold. The Slandors rarely traveled in anything less than the most luxurious ships on the market. The one she, Kelisian, and Ervane were absconding with was a more practical model, with a small, enclosed cockpit and small passenger seating area. The passenger seating was made up of four small seats in a circle facing each other. Tracks on the floor drew Sarenee to the conclusion that the chairs were movable and could be brought into other formations.

Ervane took the pilot’s seat. Kelisian made her move for the seat at its side. Sarenee looked between the passenger seating and the couple incredulously.

“I am  _ not _ sitting back there by myself,” Sarenee decided. 

Kelisian opened and closed her mouth, then looked to Ervane for help.

Ervane had no qualms about speaking her mind for her. “Sarenee, we’ve been over this.”

“No, we’ve been over the shotgun seat and who’s going to be sitting in it,” Sarenee argued as the ship reversed. “We absolutely have not covered any reason why I should sit in the kids’ seats while you two canoodle up here. Besides, I have the most knowledge about Corellia between the three of us.”

Ervane scoffed. “I spent the first seventeen years of my life there, before Norephine got me this job.”

“And yet, you couldn’t navigate the palace if you tried,” Sarenee pointed out. Despite never encountering Norephine while on Corellia as a child, Sarenee had spent hours wandering the lower levels. She knew where she was and was not allowed to go, and she was willing to bet that one of the forbidden places would lead her to Norephine now.

“But Ervane knows the city,” Kelisian argued hotly. “He can get us to the planet and then the palace, which I don’t think you can.”

“You think wrong,” Sarenee countered.

Kelisian glared over her shoulder at Sarenee. The azure jewels adorning the crown of her head glittered under the exit lights on the tunnel leading to the skies of Coruscant. “I’m trying to help find her. If you’d been a little nicer a few hours ago, we wouldn’t be leaving the gala to go get her now.”

Sarenee couldn’t contain her wry laugh. “Don’t blame this on me,” she snapped. “I’m not the one who kidnapped her. It’s not my fault her dad is a piece of shit.”

“You are  _ so _ not one to talk,” Kelisian sneered.

The ship’s motion stopped so suddenly that Sarenee stumbled forward. Her heels weren’t even good for dancing in, let alone maintaining balance. Kelisian slipped out of her seat, too, since she hadn’t buckled in. She caught herself on the dashboard full of buttons, and alarms started to sound as her hands collided with them.

Ervane silenced the alarms. He looked down at the two women on the floor of his borrowed ship with disappointment written into his brow. “You two have both lost your cockpit rights.”

“What?!” Kelisian cried.

Ervane shook his head, not swayed. “Both of you, backseat. Or this ship isn’t going anywhere with you two in it.”

Sarenee straightened her spine and glared. “You aren’t the boss of me.”

“No, but I’m the boss of this ship,” Ervane stated with a glare just as strong. “And you two are not co-pilots. Go sit down in the back.”

With no small amount of whining and offense, the two noble ladies retired to sit in the passenger area. Ervane informed them that their journey would last about forty minutes with their stolen ship’s capabilities.

Kelisian had found the seat remote first, and rotated her chair to face away from Sarenee. Takeoff was uneventful, and Sarenee’s ears popped as the ship left the atmosphere of Coruscant. Being alone to think wasn’t what she foresaw for her night, but Sarenee didn’t mind. It meant she could sulk and watch the view in silence. She saw constellations that she’d passed by on the other side, when her family went to visit the Leelas.

Corellia wasn’t necessarily the favorite place in the galaxy for tourism, but the Slandors were no strangers to the place, especially in Sarenee’s early years. She and Norephine had gone over those visits a hundred times, trying to remember if they’d ever met before becoming Padme’s Ladies. Neither had received any clarification from their parents, who all believed it impolite to discuss business with their daughters.

“You don’t have to be so confrontational,” Kelisian said, bringing Sarenee back to the moment at hand. She still hadn’t turned around to face Sarenee, but Kelisian was clearly talking to her.

Sarenee sighed. “I’m not confrontational, I’m practical.”

“You’re mean,” Kelisian shot back.

Sarenee knew there was no use arguing with her, mostly because she was right. At the same time, she wasn’t inclined to apologize for anything. Mean cut to the chase, which was essential sometimes. Like now, for example, when the chase was everything. 

“I’m not trying to be mean,” Sarenee confessed. “We wouldn’t know where to go if not for you, Lisia,” Sarenee said. 

Kelisian’s chair rotated halfway. Sarenee shifted uncomfortably when Kelisian looked over at her, noticing the change in Sarenee’s voice.

Whatever caused her to look wasn’t sufficient. Kelisian shook her head. “You’re just trying to get out of trouble,” she dismissed her with a self-deprecating laugh.

“No, I’m not,” Sarenee retorted. “Getting out of trouble is not my strong suit. Neither is cheering people up. Have you ever seen me trying to fish Nori out of one of her moods?”

Kelisian snorted. “No.”

Sarenee knew it was a long shot, but irritating Kelisian before needing her help wouldn’t be useful to anyone. In fact, the only reason they were getting to Corellia at all was thanks to Kelisian’s boyfriend. Sarenee stepped across to sit in the chair beside Kelisian’s. “Because you’re the one of us with the heart. I don’t care what anybody in the galaxy has to say about me, but I will never be able to see people like you do.”

Kelisian didn’t look her in the eyes. “Are you trying to let me down easy?”

Sarenee giggled. “Please. You’re the one who brought a date to the rescue mission.”

Kelisian’s eyes went in Ervane’s direction. For a moment, Sarenee glimpsed the slightest softening of her expression, a moment of quiet adoration that not even Ervane witnessed. Kelisian refocused on Sarenee, but her face bore nothing but love. It was probably left over from Ervane. “Do you really think I’m the heart?”

“I think that you don’t need midichlorians to be the strongest empath I’ve ever met,” Sarenee said. It was the truth. Sarenee operated in the truth. Even when Kelisian or Norephine accused her of lying to them, she never did. She withheld information strategically. She spoke only the truth, and maybe that was why she was sometimes perceived as mean. 

Kelisian, on the other hand, managed to walk a fine but enviable line. She was neither a liar nor mean. Instead, she was simply kind, simply good. She didn’t say anything else. She just moved her seat closer to Sarenee’s and lowered the arm between the chairs. She slid over and wrapped her arms around Sarenee in one of her characteristically comforting hugs. Sarenee buried her nose in Kelisian’s hair and closed her eyes, returning the embrace. It was easy to forget.

They might have fallen asleep. Maybe the journey just felt shorter going this way. Regardless, there was a groan of metal and a thump, and Sarenee realized a chunk of Kelisian’s hair was in her mouth.

“We’re here,” Ervane said. He unbuckled his belt and approached the ladies.

Sarenee blinked away the drowsiness and sat up. Kelisian roused beside her. Outside the window, slight moonlight illuminated a tall, elaborate building that glowed in shades of silver. Sarenee hadn’t seen it in years.

“Let’s go,” she said, voice hoarse with sleep.

The castle was not especially well-guarded, contrary to Sarenee’s memory of the place. In fact, the lower halls were lined with young people sleeping and sharing food. They stared in confusion as the two princesses and the mechanic passed by. Sarenee almost felt self-conscious in her gown, compared to the grease-stained rags worn by the children and teens. A girl hardly older than Faeree, Sarenee’s younger sister, struggled to share a knit blanket with a much-smaller child beside her.

Sarenee’s heart ached. “Who are they?” she whispered to Ervane. 

Ervane shrugged. “Coronet City is rife with orphans. Their parents might be in the syndicates, or they’re here looking for a new life.”

Sarenee scoffed, studying the hunger-shaded faces watching her as she walked. “That’s a long shot. Isn’t it more likely they’ll just get picked up by the very same syndicates?”

“I didn’t,” Ervane said. “I got out of here because I made friends with a princess. If the other two were a little braver, I bet half these kids wouldn’t be here right now.”

Sarenee didn’t know what else to say, so she was relieved to recognize a forbidden tunnel leading to a staircase down the hall. She led the way up the stairs with Ervane bringing up the rear. Sarenee’s memory was enough to lead her to the private quarters of the palace, which were on the fourth floor. There weren’t guards up there, either, which started to set off alarm bells in Sarenee’s head.

“Why isn’t anyone guarding this place?” she asked quietly. The hallways ahead were still grand, but more secluded. Off to the side were apartments which probably served as living quarters for visiting royalty. 

Ervane shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure. Maybe the princesses aren’t here so Agnamorus could have privacy.”

“They live on the topmost floors,” Kelisian supplied. “Nellie and Neera turned Norephine’s bedroom into an art room after she left with Padme. She was pissed about having to move into a new bedroom this summer.”

Sarenee pressed her lips together in thought. Something in the back of her brain was urging her to rationalize what she was discovering, but she knew her suggestion wouldn’t be popular. All the same, there was no use in people-pleasing if it meant the pleased people would very quickly be dead ones.

“Ervane, stay here,” Sarenee commanded.

Sure enough, both Kelisian and Ervane made offended noises, and Sarenee rolled her eyes. She turned around to face them.

“We need a getaway driver, and neither Kelisian nor I can pilot that ship,” she pointed out to Ervane. “Not to mention, you’re the one with the most to lose.”

Ervane shook his head. “I’m not leaving you two here alone. Agnamorus kidnapped Nori without any help, and now he’s on his own turf. You could be killed.” His gaze conspicuously darted to Kelisian, but she didn’t see the shadow of concern that twisted his features.

Sarenee still refused to budge. “Like you said, Ervane, you got lucky escaping Corellia. I won’t endanger how far you’ve come from this shithole by bringing you into treason.”

He scowled, but didn’t interrupt.

“Besides,” Sarenee continued, “Kelisian and I know powerful people. That doesn’t make us better than you, but it definitely makes us more dangerous to kill.”

“You think he’ll try to kill us?” Kelisian hissed anxiously.

Sarenee didn’t respond to her yet. She kept urging Ervane to wait in the stairwell with a steady tone. “I think you’ll be most useful right here, between Agnamorus and those kids downstairs. I won’t put it out of the realm of possibility that he’d use them as living shields.”

Ervane’s expression settled into determination. “You’re right.” He took Kelisian’s hand gently and held it up at about her chin level. “I’ll have your back, Lisia.”

Sarenee felt like she was watching something private, so she cast her gaze to the silver marble floor.

“Don’t die while I’m gone,” Kelisian whispered nervously.

Ervane chuckled and kissed the back of her hand. “Touche, princess.”

Sarenee looked both ways in the hallway ahead and strode out into the open expanse. There were no more children up here. The only sound was the light tapping of her own heels and the soft goodbyes between Kelisian and Ervane behind her. 

Ahead was another staircase, but Sarenee’s attention was drawn to the odd moonstone quality of its steps. They glinted like pearls under the moonlight.

Kelisian joined her at the base of the steps and said what Sarenee was thinking. “That looks like Norephine’s hair,” she observed. 

“And her sisters’,” Sarenee tacked on. 

“Agnamorus was always irritated that he had three daughters who looked just like his wife,” Kelisian recalled with a smirk.

Sarenee took a leap of faith and started up the stairs. She couldn’t imagine what else a moonstone tower would be for, if not to house the three sisters with moonstone hair. Even if Norephine wasn’t in her room, Sarenee hoped one of her sisters would be awake and willing to help. If Norephine had been right, they were always ready to take Agnamorus down a peg.

The first bedroom Sarenee found was locked shut, but soft music playing within let on that it was probably occupied. The song was a lullaby she’d heard Norephine sing once or twice. 

Another seven steps up was a second bedroom door, left ajar. When Sarenee pressed a hand against it to peek inside, she knew on sight that the room wasn’t Norephine’s. There was very little in terms of decoration, and what furniture there was inside was simple. The practical bed in the center of the room was occupied by a sleeping girl with the same iridescent hair as Norephine. She wore a baby blue satin nightdress. The only light in the room came from small, warm orbs hovering inches from the ceiling, moving like they were alive. Sarenee would guess the sleeping girl was perhaps nineteen, which would make her Crown Princess Nyrane or, according to Norephine, ‘Neera’. As Sarenee studied her, she noticed that Neera’s white hair had a more golden tint compared to Norephine’s pastel pink-blue tendency.

“No luck,” Kelisian whispered. She pulled the door a little more closed and started up the stairs to the third and final door. It was certainly Norephine’s, or it used to be. Colorful stains of paint coated the doorknob due to its repurposing as an art room.

Footsteps echoed from around the corner, and Sarenee seized Kelisian’s wrist in a vise grip. They shrank back against the center wall of the spiraling staircase, just out of view of the approaching men. Sarenee pressed a finger to her lips and Kelisian nodded once in agreement.

“The princesses moved her bed somewhere,” a male voice explained shortly. “So we made do.”

The third door opened, and Kelisian and Sarenee leaned around the curved stairs to get a peek inside. All that was visible from where they stood was a wall covered in drawings of sweeping mountains and forests with a brilliant violet sky above. The drawings were made by a passionate, if not trained, hand. Sarenee wondered if they had been created by Norephine herself.

“She won’t complain,” another man said confidently.

Agnamorus appeared from around the corner, dressed in a robe of deep violet and gold. He was no longer in his hoverchair. He gestured for the door to be opened further, and the guard accompanying him obeyed.

When he stepped into the room Norephine evidently slept in, Kelisian surged forward like she was ready to take on Agnamorus with nothing but her fists. Sarenee pressed her back with her arm.

“Wake up, Phine,” Agnamorus’ voice echoed. “Follow me.”

He departed the room a moment later. While Sarenee watched in confusion and shock, Norephine stepped out behind him. Her hair, once done perfectly by Padme, was beginning to fall loose, and strands of white were pulling free from the braids atop her head. She was wearing her gala dress, just like Kelisian and Sarenee, but it was beginning to fall apart after the night she’d had. One lace shoulder was torn and dangled by a thread. Something like grease stained the knees and hem of her lilac skirt. While Sarenee watched, a blossom from the bodice came loose and tumbled to the moonstone floor behind Norephine.

Still, she walked slowly, as if in a trance. There was no emotion on her face. She followed Agnamorus’ commands like a puppet on a string.

“Something’s wrong with her,” Kelisian whispered in horror.

Sarenee nodded in agreement. “We have to follow them.”

The procession of three guards, Agnamorus, Norephine, and the two Ladies passed through hallways made for efficiency, deep into the heart of the palace. Sarenee had lost her knowledge of the layout long ago, so she hoped Norephine would lead them out, once she was safe.

They reached an open room that appeared to be an out-of-use loading dock for ships. Most were covered in dust, and what meager light there was made everything seem ghostly and half-real. Agnamorus ordered Norephine to stand and wait, and then he departed with his guards through a stairwell to the ships’ bay. Once he was far enough away, Kelisian and Sarenee scurried out of the tunnel to Norephine. 

“Hey,” Kelisian said gently, laying a hand on Norephine’s shoulder. “We’re here. Let’s go.”

Norephine didn’t move a muscle. Sarenee’s brows drew together as she studied her friend, too quiet and too still. Norephine was upright, but she wasn’t awake. Even in the shadow, it was plain to see that she didn’t look well. Deep plum had sunk in beneath her eyes, and her lips were strangely bloodless. On top of that, it looked like bruises were appearing on her neck. Whatever had happened during the party hadn’t ended well for her.

“Is she breathing?” Kelisian whispered. She stepped closer. Her skirts caught under her feet, and a faint ripping sound elicited a soft curse from the princess. “Damn this gown,” she whispered.

Sarenee swept her own skirt out of the way and followed Kelisian over to Norephine. The jewels on her skirt scraped softly over the cold metal floor. She reached up and attempted to rouse Norephine with a shake of her shoulder, but received no confirmation that the touch registered with her.

“Nori,” Sarenee hissed urgently. She snapped her fingers in front of her face, but Nori didn’t even blink. The blank expression didn’t crack.

“Please, Norephine,” Kelisian begged quietly. She shook her arm again in an attempt to shake her free from the trance. When Norephine’s skirts shook in tandem, something hard struck Sarenee’s thigh. She grimaced and rubbed her leg. Before she could find out what had hit her, something powered up behind her.

“Step away from my daughter,” Agnamorus said.

Sarenee’s heart dropped into the soles of her shoes. She turned slowly, hands up, to face Agnamorus and his guards. Apparently, they hadn’t really gone downstairs. They had lured Sarenee and Kelisian out of hiding on purpose, and it had worked. There were four of them and three-- more accurately, two-- Ladies facing off against them. It wasn’t fair in any sense of the word.

Kelisian glared daggers at Agnamorus. “Hey, father dearest, where’d Nori get those bruises?” she snapped. Her voice took on a sharpness Sarenee had rarely heard from her.

“You know nothing about my relationship with Norephine,” Agnamorus countered coldly. “She is more than a princess. She can do so much more than I expected.”

Sarenee scowled. She’d heard fathers speak about their daughters that way before. “She can do more  _ for you _ than you expected, anyway,” she corrected him. Her tone was measured, but each syllable had barbed edges. Daughters weren’t tools to do things with.

“I will not take this language from a nepotism duchess,” Agnamorus laughed. His delight only fueled the flames of rage eating at Sarenee’s heart. He stepped closer to her, so close that she smelled his oppressive cologne. His hand tugged once at a golden ringlet of her hair. Sarenee refused to back down, even as he hissed, “At least I know the Slandor clan won’t miss you too much.”

Sarenee didn’t even feel her body moving until the back of her hand made contact with Agnamorus’ jaw. His face whipped to the side, and all three guards pulled out their guns. Sarenee flinched, expecting them to fire on her instantly, but Agnamorus lifted a hand to halt them. When he looked back at Sarenee, his eyes glinted with a mixture of rage and amusement. 

Sarenee knew what was coming next, but she still held her ground. Agnamorus pulled out a laser weapon of his own. Sarenee didn’t give him the satisfaction of her fear as he adjusted his grip to hold it by the barrel. 

“Your father was right about you,” Agnamorus said. He wound up his arm and cracked the hilt of the gun across the side of Sarenee’s face.

The world filled with stars and turned sideways. Something flat and cold met with Sarenee’s hip, shoulder, and then temple. Pain ricocheted through her skull and pounded in time with her heartbeat as her face pressed against the floor. Heat followed the pain, filling her head with both warmth and dizziness.

In the distance, Kelisian’s voice rose to an angry pitch. Sarenee couldn’t quite make out the words she was speaking. Male voices overwhelmed Kelisian’s until she went silent. By the time Sarenee could recognize Agnamorus speaking once again, she was finally getting her bearings. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, and Sarenee realized she was crumpled on the floor at the feet of one of the guards. The warmth on the side of her face was blood.

“Get her up,” Agnamorus said boredly.

Arms slipped under Sarenee’s and lifted her to her feet. Her head spun dangerously once again, and she thought for a moment that she was about to fall. Just before she lost control, familiar arms slipped around her. Kelisian’s hair smelled sweet. It was a hug, but it was more than just that. Sarenee was only standing because Kelisian was keeping her that way.

“Boys, ready my ship,” Agnamorus said offhandedly. “I can take care of a couple princesses.”

“Duchess,” Sarenee slurred.

Kelisian hushed her.

While the three guards departed, Sarenee managed to lift her head from Kelisian’s shoulder. She looked to Norephine, her face still a mask of nonchalance. She wasn’t reacting to anything happening around her.

Sarenee reached over and put an arm around her shoulders. Even though Norephine couldn’t return the gesture, her solidness helped keep Sarenee upright. That was the excuse she stuck with, instead of dwelling on how this might be the last time either of them saw the other alive. Sarenee couldn’t even tell if the real Nori was awake in there.

Agnamorus lifted his weapon to point at Sarenee’s chest. He didn’t even appear entertained by the executions he was about to perform. It was like he did this all the time. “Make peace with your gods, Ladies,” he said.

It was a bad gamble, Sarenee realized in retrospect, to calm Ervane with the fact that Sarenee and Kelisian were too important to kill. Clearly, Agnamorus was past the fear of hurting princesses, as evidenced by the bruises on Norephine’s neck.

Time slowed around Sarenee as she watched Agnamorus tighten his grip on the trigger. Kelisian pushed in front of Norephine, shielding her from the coming blow. Sarenee’s heart hurt to think about how, even if Kelisian shielded Norephine, she’d be dead. They’d all be dead in a handful of heartbeats. Even if Agnamorus didn’t hit anyone with his first shot, he would reload and shoot Kelisian dead in an instant, followed quickly by Sarenee. There was no way they could outrun a laser blast.

“Move.”

Neither Sarenee nor Kelisian had time to hesitate. They parted on either side of Norephine without a second thought. Through Sarenee’s concussed stupor, she wasn’t sure if time was really moving as unevenly as it seemed to be. Still, she barely tracked what was happening before her.

Norephine moved. Not only was she moving, she was moving quickly. She pulled something out of her pocket and cracked it across the barrel of Agnamorus’ weapon hard enough to send it spinning out of his grasp.

“Nori!” Kelisian cried.

Norephine looked to Sarenee and pressed a hand to the bleeding side of her head. Before Sarenee could flinch out of Norephine’s reach, a soothing, cooling sensation rushed in and ebbed away the worse pain. Sarenee blinked away the bleariness clouding her eyes and watched as a trickle of blood leaked out from under Norephine’s hair, slipping down her brow in the same place Sarenee was bleeding.

“I’ll explain later,” Norephine said urgently.

Sarenee was surprised there would even  _ be _ a ‘later’.

“Norephine!” Agnamorus roared. He dove for his gun, but Norephine got there first. 

She kicked it hard enough that it fell to the floor of the ship hanger below, clattering uselessly on the metal. Norephine stepped on Agnamorus’ wrist and he yelled in pain. 

A guard out in the hall shouted for backup, and Sarenee’s heart raced. She needed to help, but she had no weapons on her person.

Agnamorus cried out again as Norephine pressed more of her weight on his wrist.

Sarenee had an idea. She bent at the waist and took off her heels. 

“What are you doing?” Kelisian asked.

The first guard came around the corner to the hangar, his gun already drawn. Sarenee threw the glittering shoe as hard as she could at his head. The stiletto heel, made of diamonds from a toxic planet, buried itself in the guard’s neck. Blood sprayed out across the floor. He hit the ground hard.

“Oh,” Kelisian whispered.

“We will beg forgiveness later,” Sarenee shrugged, then readied her other shoe.

Kelisian followed suit and took her heels off. 

Norephine screamed, and Sarenee looked back toward her friend in time to see her fall to the ground, too. Agnamorus had taken hold of her ankle with his free hand and torn it out from under her. 

“Count yourself lucky that I can heal you, insolent girl,” Agnamorus sneered. “You’ll need every ounce of saving I can give you.”

He pressed his foot against Norephine’s hip and kicked her off the edge of the bridge. There was nothing below her but the thirty-foot drop onto solid metal.

“No!” Kelisian yelled, flinging out a hand in her direction.

The air around Norephine hardened and threw her toward a platform only a few feet below. She clung to the metal railing, stunned.

More guards came around the corner. Kelisian missed the first, but Sarenee covered for her with her other shoe. Kelisian ran to retrieve the three deadly accessories and took out a third guard while near the door. 

Something electric hummed to life behind Sarenee. She didn’t have time to turn and see what. She only ducked. 

Agnamorus cried out in desperation as his weapon met no target. The contraption sparked with electric energy as it flew over Sarenee’s head and clattered across the floor. Once it stopped moving, Sarenee recognized it as a Z6 baton. Her dad owned one, too.

Kelisian and Agnamorus both dove for it at once. Sarenee shouted for Kelisian to stop, but she didn’t in time. Agnamorus’ hand closed around the grip of the weapon and he pushed it into Kelisian’s chest.

Kelisian dropped to the floor almost immediately. Sarenee’s only comfort was knowing she wasn’t dead, only stunned. The baton wasn’t supposed to be a lethal weapon.

Unfortunately, that comfort only lasted so long. Agnamorus stood and turned to face Sarenee, the weapon crackling with power in his hand. Norephine was too far away to distract him, and there might have been other guards coming. Sarenee was on her own.

She didn’t have enough of an ego to think she would be leaving this room alive.

“You really are a disappointment to your family, you know,” Agnamorus said cruelly. “I had many talks with your parents about what high hopes they had for you. They always expected you to be a powerful Force user, and yet, you use your powers for frivolity.”

Sarenee didn’t answer. There was no reason to.

Agnamorus began walking toward her. “If only you’d listened when your mother suggested you train with other gifted children. You’d be fighting at my side, instead of flinging your dancing shoes at throwaway guards.”

He was too close. Sarenee quickened her pace as she shrunk away from him, but it was no use. The back wall was only feet behind her, and there was nowhere else to go. Kelisian was lying still on the floor across the room, and Norephine was struggling not to slip on her own skirts standing atop an old spaceship.

“I don’t even know how to send you off to your chosen afterlife,” Agnamorus shrugged. “Everyone knows you Slandors are godless, through and through.”

“Sarenee!” Norephine shouted. “Catch!”

Sarenee couldn’t tear her eyes away from Agnamorus’ baton. Without Kelisian, whatever Norephine was about to throw would only make it to Sarenee with sheer luck. Maybe that was all she needed. There was no other way out. All Sarenee had was hope. When she reached high into the air, summoning the glinting thing Norephine had thrown, hope was enough.

A vibration deeper than sound trembled beneath Sarenee’s feet. Something cold and hard collided with Sarenee’s open, helpless palm. She only felt. Sarenee didn’t think. Her heart was beating faster than prey in the mouth of a predator, razor teeth closing around her neck. She held the metal object above her and felt for a grip. Instead, she brushed her thumb over a slider. 

Light like blazing dusk ripped free just inches before Sarenee’s face. A beam of violet met with the baton Agnamorus wielded and did not break.

He stumbled back, reassessing the situation.

Sarenee, too, had to pause for a moment. In her hands was a lightsaber, unmarred by battle. She’d never seen one so close up.

She looked to Norephine in shock. “Where did you--”

“Later!” Norephine yelled. “Fight him!”

Sarenee looked to Agnamorus barely in time to counter an attack from his baton. She ducked under his swing and popped up on the other side, so he was the one cornered. She sloppily swung the lightsaber above her head at him, and he narrowly missed losing an arm.

Sarenee wasn’t trained in how to use a lightsaber, but Agnamorus wasn’t used to fighting against one. The tables had been leveled. Barefoot and in a dress that cost more than some of the ships below, Sarenee stood her ground against him. Her crown had somehow managed to stay on top of her crown of braids, despite the beating her head had taken tonight.

“You don’t know what you’re doing, stupid girl,” Agnamorus hissed. He lunged at Sarenee, shoving the baton toward her waist.

She jumped back and whacked away the baton with a swing of the saber. “I don’t think I need to,” she shrugged.

Norephine climbed up a ladder on the side of the room and crawled onto the platform behind Agnamorus. She crept up silently from behind him as Sarenee held her ground with the lightsaber.

“You’ll die here,” Agnamorus promised. There was exertion draining his voice. “You’ll die here, uselessly, and failing at everything you’ve ever tried to do.”

“Can you shut up?” Sarenee retorted. She rolled her eyes, although the expression nearly distracted her from another attack with the baton.

Agnamorus yelled and lunged once again, anger overwhelming him. His attack was easily parried, even without training.

Norephine took advantage of Agnamorus rage at Sarenee and ran up from behind him. She placed her hands on his back and shoved him as hard as he could toward the edge of the bridge. 

Agnamorus fell over but narrowly managed to keep a hold on the edge of the bridge. Norephine ran up to stand over him, this time safely out of his reach.

“You stupid, insolent girls,” Agnamorus spat. “You think killing me will really solve your problems?”

“Maybe not,” Sarenee said coldly. “It’ll definitely make me feel better, though.”

Norephine reached for the saber in Sarenee’s hand, which she gave without hesitation. “You don’t make the rules anymore.”

“And you do?” Agnamorus scoffed, glaring up at his daughter. “You’ll live to regret crossing me. All three of you.”

Sarenee didn’t like the honesty in his eyes. It sent a chill down her spine.

Norephine readied the saber. “You have a choice to make, Father. Either you let go now, or you lose your fingers.”

Agnamorus smiled and said something in a language Sarenee didn’t know.

Norephine swung her weapon. Agnamorus let go of the edge of the bridge moments before the shining blade touched his hands. Neither Norephine nor Sarenee got the chance to hear what happened next because of the alarms that started blasting through the echoing room.

“What  _ is  _ that?” Sarenee shouted over the sound.

Norephine smiled anxiously and bolted toward Kelisian, who was beginning to wake up. “It’s a lockdown code. We have two minutes to get out before the palace seals itself.”

Sarenee pulled one of Kelisian’s arms over her shoulder and started to run. Kelisian could help keep herself upright, but Sarenee provided all of the necessary speed. “Go!”

Norephine led the way. It appeared that Sarenee had hoped correctly, and she knew the way out better than Sarenee and Kelisian. She even knew a shortcut that cut through an art gallery. Sarenee would’ve admired the art if the palace wasn’t screaming with sound and red light. The door to where the ship was docked was sliding shut, inch by inch. In less than three, it would be too small to fit through.

“Run!” Sarenee yelled, pushing Norephine through first.

Kelisian flung out a hand, holding the final door open with the sheer force of her power. The exertion made sweat bead on her brow, but she didn’t stop. Sarenee tightened her grip on Norephine’s hand and bolted through the open passage behind her. Kelisian brought up the rear, and the emergency door slammed shut in her wake. The release on her powers sent her stumbling into the wall.

Ervane leapt out of the ship and rushed toward Kelisian. “What happened to her?” he demanded, worry soaking his voice. He slipped an arm around Kelisian just in time for her legs to give out. He caught her under the knees and kept her from hitting the ground. “Is she all right?”

“She won’t be if we don’t get out of here,” Sarenee retorted.

As if to punctuate her statement, a loud crash of metal echoed through the palace. Through a window on the third floor, bright orange light exploded from within.

Ervane didn’t say anything else. Still carrying Kelisian, he turned and hurried back into the ship. Sarenee and Norephine followed close behind. The two women slammed the door closed behind them.

Ervane didn’t wait for them to buckle in. The ship rocketed up into the sky, hightailing it home to Coruscant. Sarenee and Norephine clung to the safety bars on the walls to avoid flying into the rear of the spacecraft.

Though takeoff was bumpy, once the ship ascended beyond the atmosphere of Corellia, Sarenee and Norephine were able to release their hold on the safety bars. Kelisian was lying on two of the seats in the center of the room, her skin pale in contrast to her dark hair. Now it was her eyes that were weighed down by purple, her neck with bruises lining it. 

Sarenee looked to Norephine and actually studied her for the first time since the rescue. Her skin was no longer pallid. Her eyes were bright and alert.

She looked to Sarenee and offered a grateful smile. “I’m glad you came after me.”

Sarenee rolled her eyes. “Please, Nori. It wasn’t ever a question.”

Norephine smiled and watched Kelisian, her eyes touched by concern. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t.”

Sarenee knew that tone. She was starting to process the night at last, put it in context with everything she’d ever known to be true. This was usually when Kelisian would have stepped in. “Do you want to talk about it?” Sarenee asked hesitantly. 

Thankfully, she didn’t, and she communicated that with a single shake of her head. Norephine sighed wearily and rested her head on Sarenee’s shoulder. “No, I want to go to sleep. I’m just glad it’s over.”

The sky stretched out ahead of them, stars rocketing past on either side of the borrowed ship. Sarenee thought about Agnamorus’ warning of vengeance, about how Norephine had healed the wound on her head. There was something coming.

“Sorry, Nori,” Sarenee whispered against her hair, “but I think it’s just beginning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for disappearing this was the chapter i wrote this fic just to write so i had to give it a lot of time. also i have a job now! anyway lmk what y'all think. canon is still my bitch


	11. every breath you take

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ladies' safe return to Coruscant sets them on a new path.

Kelisian was still sore by morning. She rolled over in bed and saw Sarenee asleep, still fully clothed. Norephine’s bed was empty, and the wardrobe pulled away from the wall. The hallway behind it was left exposed, which was as good as an invitation in Norephine’s mind.

Once Kelisian had pulled on her dressing gown and slippers, she followed where Nori had likely gone. Her shoes were a little slippery on the rungs of the ladder, but not so much so that she was afraid to crawl to the top.

Norephine was leaning against the arced wall of the turret room, her head against the rosy warped glass. She held a little jewelry box in her lap that she fiddled with methodically. As Kelisian rose through the trapdoor, she observed that it was, in fact, a puzzle. Norephine’s fingers were playing with tiny toggle switches and sliding boxes to pop it open. 

Norephine didn’t bother looking up when Kelisian arrived. She waited until Kelisian had gotten comfortable before speaking. “Are you okay?”

Kelisian thought about it. She could lie, and pretend the world they were in yesterday was still the one she saw now. “No,” Kelisian decided. She scooted closer and leaned her head on Norephine’s shoulder. “I don’t think I am.”

Norephine responded in kind by smoothing down Kelisian’s dark hair with a gentle hand. “Me neither,” she agreed. “I think that’s probably natural, though.”

“Unlike everything else that happened yesterday,” Kelisian half-joked.

Norephine laughed, even though Kelisian could tell it was forced. She sounded tired.

“How did you sleep?” Kelisian asked. She leaned back against the curved wall and linked her hands around her knees.

Norephine shrugged a shoulder and mirrored Kelisian’s posture. “Dozed off for a couple hours at a time, but I didn’t, really. I wasn’t tired.”

Kelisian recalled Norephine being awake on the ship and frowned. “But you didn’t sleep on the flight, either, did you?”

Norephine shook her head.

Kelisian’s frown deepened. “Nori, you can’t stay awake forever.”

“I wasn’t tired,” Norephine repeated. She lifted her gaze to the rapidly brightening sky. “When I was in that… trance-thing, it felt like sleep.”

Kelisian didn’t want to bring it up first, but wouldn’t miss the chance to discuss last night in a little more detail. She made sure her voice was calm and kind. “So you don’t remember anything?”

Norephine shifted, so she was gazing out of the small window and not toward the ceiling. “It feels like a dream, I guess. Like I was there, but my brain wasn’t really… absorbing anything.” She pressed her lips together as if she wasn’t satisfied with her own description. “On the way home, when Sarenee would mention isolated events, I could remember they happened. I just didn’t have any emotions about them while they actually unfolded.”

Kelisian made a point not to seem as disturbed by that as she was. “Do you have emotions about them now?”

“Yes,” Norephine said quickly. “Yes, I do. Quite a lot of them.”

Kelisian bit her lip thoughtfully. If Norephine had been asleep but upright for most of the night, then she had been an awfully dynamic sleepwalker. “When did you wake up?” Kelisian asked curiously.

“When my father hit Sarenee,” Norephine answered. Her voice was haunted by a guilt Kelisian wasn’t used to hearing.

Kelisian sighed and pulled Norephine’s head to her shoulder. Norephine didn’t protest, but she didn’t continue talking about the incident. Kelisian was unsure of whether or not to push for more information, considering the night they’d all had.

“I want to get stronger.”

Kelisian’s eyes widened. She lifted her cheek from Norephine’s head and looked down at her in concern. “Norephine, you _are_ strong. I think what you need is to take care of yourself.”

“I can do that if I’m a better fighter,” Norephine countered coldly. Her tone was unlike her. She’d clearly been stewing on this all morning. “If I’m so formidable with a weapon that no one would dare touch me unwarranted, then I’ll be taken care of better than ever.”

Kelisian spied a loose lock of luminescent hair and smoothed it into Norephine’s plaits. “You’re still young, Nori,” she reminded her. When she was in these moods, the best way to get her back to normal was with a gentle hand. Encouragement had always done more for Norephine than the threat of punishment. “You’ll get better, with time.”

“Less time if I try harder,” Norephine snapped. “Less time if I forget about trying to be a Jedi and work on being dangerous.”

Kelisian couldn’t help but laugh. Norephine’s defeatist tone of voice was so dissonant to the soft, fresh-faced girl Kelisian had grown up with. Norephine could be many things, but dangerous was certainly not one of them. 

Norephine noticed Kelisian’s laughter, and when Kelisian met her eyes again, she was glaring. “What’s so funny?”

Kelisian tried to suppress her giggles to honestly answer Norephine. “I’m sorry, Nori. You’re not dangerous to me, I guess. You’re sweet.”

Norephine’s scowl only deepened. “Sweet wouldn’t have kept me alive last night, if you guys hadn’t made it in time.”

Kelisian knew she was right. While focusing on her own injuries, she hadn’t thought much about what would’ve happened to Norephine without her. Without Sarenee and Ervane. She recalled the ghostly look on Norephine’s face as she stood before her father and the guards in the loading bay. That girl wasn’t even fully conscious, let alone able to run away from impending danger. 

“We did make it in time,” Kelisian argued, shaking off the unsettling thoughts. “We’ll always be here. We’ll keep you safe.”

Norephine clenched her jaw and sat upright. “You’re not my mom,” she hissed. She pushed Kelisian’s hand away and crawled toward the trapdoor.

Kelisian didn’t know what to say. She stumbled through a hasty, “Nori--” before the younger Lady disappeared through the opening.

In her aftermath, Kelisian let out a weary sigh. She knew Norephine was insisting she wasn’t tired, but she could probably do with a nap, anyway. She was like a toddler, sometimes, despite her age.

Kelisian made her way down the ladder and returned to the bedroom. She wasn’t too surprised to observe Norephine’s absence, and wondered where she’d skulked off to now. She wasn’t short of hiding spots, and Kelisian barely knew the half of them. Even so, she wouldn’t spend her morning chasing Nori. She probably needed a moment to think, anyway.

Sarenee was awake and brushing through her hair with a glinting pearl brush. She had changed out of her gown, finally, and was now clad in her favorite dressing gown. It was only sheer enough to hint at the silhouette of her legs in the sunlight. Her ankles were crossed daintily.

She offered Kelisian a polite smile, but did not speak. It was her own silent signal that she was not yet awake enough to talk.

Kelisian followed her lead and didn’t ask her questions. Instead, she dressed herself for the day-- after the gala, she was no longer in the mood for finery. She opted for a short top with a ruched hem, exposing her midsection, and loose, flowing pants cinched at the ankle. Instead of her usual cerulean, the garments were a steely silver. They contrasted pleasantly with her gray-blue eyes.

As she worked on plaiting her hair, Kelisian heard Sarenee finish her morning routine and move into the dining room. The thought of food convinced Kelisian to abandon her rebellious waves and join her friend.

Sarenee was seated at her favorite spot at the right hand of the table. She selected a silver ladle of spring green puree and filled a saucer with it, then dipped some golden bread in it. Kelisian found a seat across from her and selected the proudest-looking pastry to start eating. She knew Sarenee was probably still not awake enough to want to talk, let alone discuss her emotions, but Kelisian couldn’t help but try. She barely made it one bite in before the question burbled from her.

“Do you want to talk about last night?” Kelisian asked hesitantly.

“No,” Sarenee responded. She took another bite of her breakfast and did not elaborate.

For a long moment, it was quiet, except for the gentle tapping of silverware on fancy plates. Kelisian tried to distract herself by counting the missing pearls on the wrist of Sarenee’s dressing gown (four) but ultimately failed to remain silent. Again.

“You killed someone,” she blurted out. Kelisian’s cheeks rapidly went hot at the thought of the conversation she’d started. 

Sarenee put down her fork. She, too, seemed apprehensive of the coming discussion. Her lower lip was tucked under her teeth. She avoided Kelisian’s eyes. “So did you. We had to.” Her fork remained in her hand, but she did not take another bite.

Kelisian nodded. She had flung one of her heels at that guard, knowing full well they were manufactured specifically for that purpose. Her parents had trained her on how to use diamond heels, should she ever need them. She didn’t think she would.

There was too long a pause between Sarenee’s words and Kelisian’s response, a silence filled with heavy thoughts. When Kelisian did speak, she was somber. “I know,” she said. She didn’t look at Sarenee, too afraid of the uncertainty she’d see in her normally shining eyes. Kelisian kept her gaze locked on her hands, fiddling with the silverware on the table. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sarenee didn’t touch her food. “No,” she said again.

Neither moved. Kelisian found herself gazing out the wide windows across the surface of Coruscant. The sky above was a blushing rose hue, like the first blossom of spring. It was a beautiful morning, but Kelisian couldn’t find it in her to appreciate it. Her urge to romanticize had been muted, for the moment. Something about the familiarity of the skyline was off-putting, but Kelisian couldn’t put her finger on why.

There was a polite knock at the door. Kelisian and Sarenee both turned, welcoming the distraction from their silence. A sentry entered, bowed politely, and said, “Lady Qar-Maksis, your mechanic is here.”

Kelisian beamed. “Thank you, Reve,” she said kindly.

“What are you wearing?” Sarenee asked. She sounded less judgmental than amused. 

Reve looked down at his clothing. Instead of the typical sky-blue uniform the doorboys usually wore, he sported a deep navy jumpsuit with a layered leather tool belt around his waist. Kelisian couldn’t place why the getup was so familiar.

Reve looked back up to Sarenee, his cheeks reddening. “I… it’s a long story, my Lady.”

Kelisian smirked at him. He was cute, and she didn’t know how no one had snatched him up yet. She turned back to Sarenee with a sparkle in her eyes. “Well, I’ve got places to go--”

“And lowlives to indulge,” Sarenee finished. Before Kelisian could chide her for being so rude, Sarenee waved a dismissive hand at her. “I’m joking. Have fun with Ervane.”

Kelisian’s smile returned. She turned to the sentry, who had not yet left the door. “Reve, if you would be so kind as to pack two breakfasts to go?”

Reve nodded obediently. “It would be a pleasure, my Lady.” He made his way to the breakfast table and began to reallocate cream puffs, poached eggs, and something delicious Kelisian could only describe as savory mango into delicate boxes.

Kelisian smirked at Sarenee over her shoulder. “How come the doorboy is kinder to me than you are?” she teased.

“Because he gets paid to tolerate you,” Sarenee retorted. Despite her stinging words, the softness of her expression gave away her lightening mood. “Now get out, I’m trying to eat.”

Kelisian obliged happily. She exited the dining room and started toward the bedroom once again. She’d bought a new shade of lipstick last weekend that hadn’t matched her dress from the gala, so she’d have to take it for a spin. 

Before she could make it to her room, a hand caught Kelisian’s elbow and swung her around the corner as if she were dancing. She laughed in surprise and delight as she stumbled into Ervane, who was also chuckling.

Kelisian looked down and made a face. “What are you _wearing_?”

Ervane had abandoned his usual mechanic’s clothing for something a little more fit for the Ladies’ suite. A powder blue jacket with golden trim brought out the blue of his eyes, and smartly tailored slacks came almost to the floor. The clothes didn’t fit his personality or his body, and Kelisian couldn’t fathom why he’d wear such a--

She came to a belated realization. “Ervane, you--” Kelisian looked back to where Reve stood at the dining room door, dressed in clothes that were slightly too big. She failed to stifle a giggle and returned her gaze to Ervane. “Why would you…?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Ervane shrugged. “Besides, I haven’t seen you in your element since last year, and I didn’t think it was fair to make you come down to the hangar anytime we needed to talk. Even if I had to do a quick-change with your guard.”

“Sentry,” Reve corrected him from across the room.

Ervane looked up, brow furrowing, but Kelisian pulled him away from the other man before he could snap. She smiled even as she did so. On the other side of the room near the windows, she resumed her conversation. “But still, it’s high traffic outside. How did you sneak up here? There’s no way no one saw you.”

“They did see me,” Ervane shrugged. Not even he could keep the satisfied smirk off his face. “Your own queen came downstairs to escort me.”

Kelisian gasped and brought a hand to her chest. “Padme came to get you?”

Ervane nodded. “She said she heard about last night, and she wants to pull some strings to get me a second job upstairs.”

Kelisian seemed to recall a certain conversation about Ervane she’d had with Padme, and she resolved to thank her later. She beamed at Ervane. “Well, Sentry Aislandor, I think it’s time for you to take a break.”

He led her through the door to Padme’s bedroom, which she’d left open. On the balcony outside her room, a blanket spread out over the shining marble, and a basket that smelled like baked goods shone in the light. She followed his lead to the blanket, ignoring the rush of blood to her cheeks, and held his arm to guide herself to sit on the blanket.

He sat down across from her and looked out over the city with a thoughtful expression. His blue jersey matched his cerulean eyes, and Ervane’s sandy brown hair ruffled in a late morning breeze that swept over the balcony. His eyes reflected the rosy light of the sun, making them shine all the more. Kelisian admired him as she started on her cream puff. 

“Do you ever think about leaving this place?” he said abruptly.

Kelisian’s brows neared in her confusion. She wasn’t prepared for talking, after a long moment of infatuation. “What do you mean?” She popped another forkful of the strange fruit in her mouth and resolved to ask Padme what it was. On the off chance she didn’t know, she would point Kelisian in the right direction of who to ask.

Ervane opened his mouth to speak, but doubted himself and closed it again. He sat in his own quiet for a long moment before trying again. “We’re in the epicenter,” he began hesitantly. “Whatever happens to the galaxy will inevitably affect us here. The Senate, the Jedi Council, all of them-- they’re markers of this time, and this place. What happens when they’re gone?”

Kelisian thought about a world outside her own. It was a world with different heroes and different villains, and different rules she didn’t understand. The thought scared her. She scooted closer to Ervane and said, “I can’t imagine it’ll be good.”

“I can,” he countered offhandedly.

Kelisian met his eyes, searching for answers in the blue she saw there. “What’s it like?” She popped another cream puff in her mouth as he pondered the question.

He smiled for a moment. The expression was so brief that Kelisian almost missed it. “It’s safer, in a way. What danger there is… it stays far away from us. It’s not just down the road at the Senate.”

Kelisian scoffed. “There’s no danger here.”

“Other than the Sith spies,” Ervane retorted. “And Norephine’s father, and--”

“I get it,” Kelisian stopped him with a roll of her eyes. “But I’m talking about the Senate-- there’s no way any of our enemies would actually attack us here. We’re too highly protected. There’s too many eyes on us.”

“That’s my point,” Ervane emphasized. He turned to fully face Kelisian and took one of her hands in his. “There’s eyes on you, on all of us, as long as we’re here. You’re right that some are trying to protect us, but some aren’t.”

Although Ervane paused, Kelisian didn’t speak. She did, however, select a flawless pink merengue to eat after her cream puff. There was no use pretending that Ervane was wrong. He had flown a ship to his home planet just last night to rescue a princess who should’ve been safe on Coruscant. Not even royalty could avoid the danger, and not even on a planet like this one. Kelisian knew he was right, and she wanted to hear more. 

He took his cue and went on. “You’re a princess. If you were a little less smart, you’d be safe, but I can’t imagine you as anything other than this.”

Kelisian couldn’t help but pry at that. “And what am I, exactly?”

Ervane side-eyed her, but his smirk gave away his shine for her. Kelisian felt that smile warming her very bones. “You’re a powerful young woman, in more ways than one,” he said.

Kelisian smiled, although she knew his declaration would lead to a point she didn’t like. “Go on,” she bid him.

“If you weren’t a princess,” Ervane said, then stopped, as if he no longer wanted her to hear his next words. He rephrased and spoke again. “If we ran away and left all of this-- Coruscant, Anaxes, the Jedi and the Sith and what have you-- behind us, we’d be safe.”

“But I wouldn’t be much of a leader, would I?” Kelisian countered. Her voice, measured by logic, sounded so much like Sarenee’s that she smiled at herself.

Ervane, however, wasn’t as convinced as one of Sarenee’s victims would be. He narrowed his eyes and shrugged one shoulder, then said, “You’re not much of a leader now, if I may say so.”

Kelisian’s blush stopped its steady creep across her face. “What?”

Ervane sensed the warning in her tone and backed off. “I’m not trying to insult you. I would hope we’re close enough by now that I can speak freely.”

“You can,” Kelisian countered coldly. She didn’t like how he maintained her stare, how he seemed utterly convinced of his truth. Ervane was no liar, and she knew it. “I just hope you know how out of turn you are while you do it.”

He smirked at her mild contradiction, but continued to explain. “You’re certainly doing the best you can in your situation, but Prince Aurelian is the one doing the legislation, isn’t he?”

“He is,” Kelisian admitted. She thought of him often, of the somewhat alienating stares she received on her summer back home from all the people who once loved her. There were children on her planet who had never walked its soil with Kelisian herself. Some probably had no idea who she was.

“It’s not personal,” Ervane assured her. 

He spoke in the even, steady tone that had endeared her to him in the first place. He was not quick to anger or to judgment, and now was no different. He would not lie to her or hurt her without good reason. Kelisian tried to listen without becoming defensive.

“You aren’t alone in it, either,” Ervane continued. He looked out over the city as he listed names. “Sarenee’s district of Alderaan has been entirely reabsorbed by the Organas. They allow her to keep it by title only.”

Kelisian’s brow furrowed. “How do you know that?”

Ervane leveled Kelisian with a knowing look that sent a shiver down to her toes. “You’re not the only one with ears to the ground around here, Princess. I’ve got my eye on a couple of boys who’d like to have a word with our golden-haired friend.”

Kelisian’s heart kicked into gear. Barely twenty feet away, Sarenee relaxed and ate her breakfast with no idea it wasn’t just the Sith who’d delight in her misfortune. Kelisian’s anxiety over the newfound threat must have shown on her face, because Ervane shook his head before she could say a word about it.

“Like I said, I’ve got my eye on them,” he repeated. “They won’t hurt her. I give you my word on that.”

Kelisian pressed her lips into a thoughtful line. She thought last night had solved most of her problems, and all she’d face today were repercussions of that. Maybe that train of thought was just another one of her expectations set to be dismantled.

“After yesterday, I would hope you don’t need me to explain the state of Corellia,” Ervane scoffed. He couldn’t meet Kelisian’s eyes and distracted himself by eating a merengue. “I know there’s only so much the princesses can do, but I can hardly think of those children without feeling guilty.”

“Don’t,” Kelisian said. Her voice was soothing, as was the hand on his shoulder that accompanied it. “It’s not your fault those children are on the street. You were lucky, and you shouldn’t feel guilt for that.”

“Is that how you sleep at night?” Ervane said, more harshly than Kelisian was ready for. 

She recoiled physically, withdrawing her hand as if he’d bitten her. “What are you talking about?”

Ervane still wouldn’t look at her. “You and your friends. Your planets need you, and if you abandoned this place and went home, you could do something good there. Instead, you… eat breakfast picnics and dress in beautiful gowns and flirt with people below your station.” He ran a hand through his hair, but did not move to leave. That was Kelisian’s only comfort as he looked at her at last. “You got lucky and were born a princess, and you did nothing with that power. How do you wrestle that guilt?”

Kelisian opened her mouth, reconsidered, and closed it again. She knew her cheeks must have been red. When she got her thoughts in order, she said, “My brother was always better suited to actually ruling.”

“And you’re better at what? Looking pretty?” Ervane challenged her. There was real malice in his voice, and Kelisian struggled to remind herself that it wasn’t truly directed at her. It couldn’t be.

“That’s your question to answer,” she countered offhandedly. “I never asked to be a princess, but the best part of my life so far has been meeting my friends. That wouldn’t have happened without this title.”

Ervane didn’t bother responding. He ate another merengue and scowled into the risen sun.

Kelisian also let the silence stretch. She did think about her planet, sometimes, and she occasionally shared her concerns with her friends. They reminded her that none of it was her fault, but Kelisian hadn’t thought about how both of them were guilty of the same neglect. Maybe their advice to help absolve Kelisian’s guilt was a backward method of relieving themselves of their own. 

“I understand your point,” Kelisian murmured. “I want to talk to you about it without feeling like you’re angry with me.”

“I can’t stop you from feeling angry,” Ervane huffed through a mouthful of merengue.

“No, but you can remember I want to get better, and I want to help,” Kelisian explained. She tried not to sound whiny. “You’re right that I was lucky. I’ve never been in your place. I need your help to understand what it’s like, and how I can do the most good with my luck.”

Ervane was quiet, but Kelisian could tell her was listening. After a moment of quiet, he met her eyes again and studied her expression. “You mean that, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Kelisian chuckled. “I save my white lies for other royalty.”

Ervane rolled his eyes, but Kelisian caught his smile before he turned away. “Anyway, I came up here with a dual mission. Padme told me that you and your friends are expected at the northeast balcony in an hour, and you’ll want to change into something you can move in.”

Kelisian tilted her head. Her curiosity was already rising to meet the new opportunity, but she focused on something else Ervane had said. “What was the other mission?”

Ervane bit down a smile and looked away. Kelisian almost thought he was embarrassed as he explained, “I wanted to show you we can exist in the same world, if we choose to. The picnic was Padme’s idea.” 

Kelisian smiled down at the nearly-empty basket and blanket. “It was a great idea,” she acknowledged kindly. “Can you give me a hint as to my afternoon activities?”

Ervane shook his head. “Padme kept that to herself. I’m simply the messenger.”

Kelisian couldn’t help but smile and glance down at his powder blue uniform. “I thought you were a sentry.”

Ervane laughed and playfully pushed her shoulder. “Don’t push your luck, Princess. I’ll gladly stop bringing you picnics.”

Kelisian rolled her eyes, not entirely believing him, but stopped teasing him anyway.

After picking up the picnic and returning to her bedroom, Kelisian found a set of clothes laid out on her bed. Sarenee and Norephine both had similar garments awaiting them. Kelisian got changed and began to pull her hair out of her face when Sarenee returned from breakfast.

“How’s the mechanic?” she asked.

Kelisian smiled at her reflection. “He’s fine. He let me know we’re expected to get changed and go to the northeast balcony in an hour or so.”

Sarenee scoffed. “I didn’t know he made our schedule.”

“He doesn’t,” Kelisian said defensively. “Padme told him that, and he passed it on. Besides, the new clothes aren’t bad.”

Sarenee looked Kelisian up and down, but her mask of indifference had a crack in it. Kelisian could tell she was fascinated.

The garments were stretchy and breathable, with pants that clung to Kelisian’s legs instead of draping like her previous outfit’s. The material was a deep gray, almost black. The top, which was a shade of brownish beige, wrapped around her torso and adjusted to fit her comfortably. A waistband tied neatly at her side. A tasteful sliver of her stomach peeked out when Kelisian bent too far over or raised her arms above her head. Despite their simplicity, she felt catlike and capable in the new clothes. 

“Somewhat basic, aren’t they?” Sarenee asked.

Kelisian shrugged. “I like them.”

Despite her misgivings, Sarenee got dressed in the clothing given to her. Although the actual garments were identical to Kelisian’s, Sarenee added her own accessories. She looped her own sheer golden scarf over her shoulders and crossed it under her chest, tucking it under the waistband of her shirt behind her back. 

Kelisian giggled when Sarenee was done straightening her ensemble. “That looks a bit familiar,” she jabbed. “You going to visit the Council today?”

Sarenee stuck out her tongue at her. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what we’re doing this afternoon. I’m simply dressing for the job I want, not the one I have.”

“Since when do you want to be a Jedi?” Kelisian laughed. She looped a braid around the base of her ponytail and pinned it into place.

Sarenee shrugged and started combining her hair into one long golden braid. “A girl can dream of more than being a princess, can’t she?”

“Of course,” Kelisian nodded enthusiastically. She turned around on her stool to look at Sarenee getting ready. “I just thought Norephine was our Jedi fangirl, not you.”

The door swung open and Norephine darted inside.. She was out of breath, but she narrowed her eyes at Kelisian. “Did you just say my name?”

Sarenee looked at her in surprise. “Did we summon you by accident?”

Norephine straightened and tucked a wild lock of hair behind her ear. It looked more blue than white today. “No,” she countered. “I was hurrying back to get changed before training.”

Kelisian gasped, but Sarenee beamed proudly. “I knew that’s what we were doing,” she bragged to Kelisian.

Norephine was equally excited. “Anakin said that after last night, I need more training than just combat. All three of us are going to work on a well-rounded defensive education.”

“He said that, didn’t he?” Sarenee guessed.

Norephine’s cheeks grew pink. “Yes.”

“I didn’t think that sounded like you,” Sarenee explained. She pinned her loose waves into place so they wouldn’t block her vision. “Get changed, then. We’ve got places to go.”

Once Norephine was ready, they departed for the northeast balcony. Kelisian took note of how few people let their gazes linger on the girls as they walked. Ervane had been onto something when he’d changed clothes-- appearance was everything. Not even a respectful nod was cast their way as the Ladies exited onto the corner balcony, bathed in mid-afternoon sunlight. Anakin awaited them there, leaning against the outside of the building. 

“Are we late?” Norephine asked upon seeing him.

He shook his head. “A few minutes early, I believe. I’m just as surprised as you are.”

She scoffed and looked to Kelisian. “If he wasn’t helping us, I’d--”

“Feed me to your sister’s beasts?” Anakin guessed. “My devoured remains wouldn’t be much helping teaching you.”

Before Norephine could retort, Sarenee asked, “Are we going to train out here? It might get hot, and I think we would draw a little too much attention.”

Anakin shook his head and gestured to an open maintenance tunnel on the far side of the balcony. “We’re going to head that way. Norephine’s extensive knowledge of secret tunnels actually comes in handy, now and then.”

She visibly preened. “Not everything’s about winning lightsaber battles.”

Kelisian led the way toward the tunnel. Sarenee kept pace with her, side by side as they descended three flights of stairs to the floor of the tunnel. It was cool and pleasantly dark, with utilitarian lights adorning the walls. The tunnel stretched out ahead of them about fifty feet before turning.

“Are you bringing us here to kill us?” Sarenee asked. She didn’t sound afraid, just irritated.

Kelisian started to walk onward, doubting that Anakin was planning their murder. His response to Sarenee confirmed as much, but Kelisian focused more on not stepping in any puddles than on listening to him.

“We better not spend too much time down here,” Sarenee muttered. “I don’t like the lighting situation.”

Kelisian couldn’t help but laugh. “Sarenee, I think we have bigger problems than the ambience in the maintenance tunnel.”

Sarenee began to explain why she cared about the aesthetics, but Kelisian picked up on the conversation happening behind her.

Anakin sternly asked Norephine, “What is the _only_ rule?”

“Discretion,” Norephine muttered.

Anakin sighed impatiently. “About what, specifically?”

“You breaking all of the rules,” Norephine whispered. She was irritated. “How come you’re the only one allowed to do what you want?”

Kelisian knew them both well enough by now to expect the argument to continue for hours if no one interrupted them. She stopped walking and turned around to face the two bickering party members. “What are you talking about?”

Anakin and Norephine exchanged a glance.

“Nothing,” Norephine huffed, and the same time Anakin said, “Secrecy.”

Norephine scowled at him, but didn’t take the bait. Kelisian turned away from them both and continued walking. She reached the point at which the tunnel curved and realized she had been wrong. It wasn’t a turn-- it was an entrance.

Ahead of her was a spacious room that reminded Kelisian of an arena. Most of the floor was covered by flat mats meant to absorb impact. The room was illuminated by thin strips of light overhead running the length of the ceiling, but Kelisian wondered at their true purpose. 

“What is this place?” Sarenee asked

She noted that she kept reaching down to sweep her skirts out of her way, only for her hand to meet with empty air. Sarenee didn’t have any ribbons to fiddle with, either, so she was methodically tying and untying the waistband of her top. Norephine stood almost unsettlingly still on the far side of Sarenee. She’d spent more time in the activewear than either of her friends, and it showed. 

“We escaped,” Sarenee pointed out.

“Barely,” Anakin countered. His gaze strayed to Kelisian. “All three of you would be dead if not for sheer luck. You had the element of surprise on your side, but not much else.”

Kelisian couldn’t help but feel as if Anakin was looking down on them. She pressed her lips into a miffed line. “Well, we didn’t have any other options. If we didn’t at least try, Norephine would be dead right now.”

“Or worse,” Norephine supplied coolly, “comatose and being fed upon by any Sith who feels like a pick-me-up.”

“Also not optimal,” Anakin acknowledged. “Your problems have gotten notably worse since I first met you three. That’s why I called in help.”

A man emerged from the doorway on the opposite side of the room from where Kelisian had entered. He was blonde, and dressed in clothes typical of a Jedi. Kelisian’s heart kicked into higher gear. If there were two Jedi invested in the Ladies’ training, then the threats had to be real. Maybe Ervane was right about the world convening around her.

“Ladies, this is Master Kenobi,” Anakin introduced him. “He’s agreed to help me teach you.”

Kelisian’s expression must have shown her reaction to the phrasing he used. ‘Teach’ was something done to children, not princesses who wanted to learn to fight. 

Anakin noted her reaction and explained, “Training is for members of guilds. You three aren’t being assigned to defend anyone but yourselves, and thus, you’re not training.”

Norephine rolled her eyes, and Anakin glared at her.

“I’ve heard that you three are the Ladies attending Senator Amidala,” Master Kenobi said respectfully. “I admire her as a leader and as a friend, and I already consider you three friends as well. You can simply call me Obi-Wan,” he smiled. 

Kelisian liked his friendliness. She’d never spoken to a Jedi in more than passing, so Anakin was her only idea of what they were like. As a result, she’d expected all of them to be moody. She gave a polite smile. “Nice to meet you, Obi-Wan.”

He returned her smile, but kept speaking. “I do want it on record that I am not training you. I’m giving advice to ladies who need more defending than others. This is _not_ training.”

“Not the way he does it, it’s not.”

Kelisian looked to her left, where a woman had seemingly materialized out of thin air. She was leaning into one hip with a smirk on her dark-painted lips, her arms crossed over her chest. Her hair seemed to have a life of its own.

“Ladies, this is High Priestess Arrica Trileyan,” Anakin said reverently. “Priestess, this is Princess Kelisian of Anaxes, Duchess Sarenee of Alderaan, and Princess Norephine of Corellia.”

The three Ladies curtsied politely, reaching for skirts that were not there. Kelisian’s mind whirred to place Arrica. The woman standing beside Anakin looked strangely familiar. When Arrica’s eyes landed on Kelisian, they twinkled with secrecy. She winked. Kelisian felt a jolt through her chest like she’d been struck by lightning.

“Priestess?” Sarenee confirmed with a curious angling of her head. She gestured to Obi-Wan as an example. “Not Master?”

Arrica nodded curtly. “I’m…” she glanced at the Jedi, then smirked at a joke only she knew. “Alternative.”

“That’s one word for it,” Obi-Wan muttured, barely loud enough for Kelisian to hear him. Still, she decided she liked him more than Anakin. He wasn’t as glarey.

Arrica either didn’t hear Obi-Wan or elected to ignore him, but Kelisian guessed she wouldn’t have minded his skepticism anyway. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and explained further. “I’m a Sister of the Fates. We play by different rules than the Jedi.”

Kelisian gave Arrica a once-over and confirmed what she said. Arrica was no Jedi. She wore no robe or cloak. In fact, she was dressed in a tight-fitting, deep emerald jumpsuit. Ervane had traded a similar one for Reve’s uniform just this morning. Unlike Ervane’s, Arrica’s clothing was no common mechanic’s garb. It had a delightful shine in the afternoon light. The glimmering fabric contrasted with Arrica’s dark, wild curls, pouring down her back in a disorganized mass.

“What kinds of different rules?” Sarenee inquired. She crossed her arms over her chest as if she didn’t trust the new woman.

Arrica was not fazed. She calmly stated, “I’m what the Sisters call a Force siren.”

Sarenee’s confident expression evaporated. Norephine looked at her with excitement and surprise, but Sarenee didn’t mirror her delight. Kelisian watched as Sarenee decided she was going to be difficult with Arrica on purpose.

Arrica waved a hand at the air to dismiss the idea of a Force siren. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of such a thing.”

“Don’t presume to know what I’m aware of,” Sarenee countered rapidly.

Obi-Wan stepped in before the dark-haired woman could counter Sarenee’s jab. “I’m better accustomed to teaching one at a time, so if I could borrow Norephine first?”

Norephine smiled politely and followed Obi-Wan out the side door. She didn’t have her lightsaber today, at least not where Kelisian could see it.

As Norephine passed Anakin, Kelisian heard him whisper, “Discretion.”

Norephine hissed back, “Trust me.” She sounded somewhat offended that he doubted her.

Kelisian resolved to ask about what the two were so heated over when the training was over and done.

Arrica waited until Obi-Wan and Norephine were presumably out of earshot, then looked to Anakin. “White-haired girl, she’s the one with the saber?”

“Yes,” he confirmed.

Arrica huffed in amusement. “Your standards are lower than I thought.”

Anakin rolled his eyes and excused himself to go retrieve some supplies from the hall.

“Excuse me?” Sarenee demanded of Arrica. “What do you know about Jedi standards, Priestess?”

Arrica was still unfazed by Sarenee’s brutal tone. Kelisian had never seen anyone so immune to her. “I don’t need to know Jedi standards to see that the girl can hardly be trusted to keep her tongue in check, let alone a deadly weapon.”

“I gave her the lightsaber,” Anakin admitted before anyone asked.

Arrica waved him off. “I understand that, and your reasoning is only occasionally corrupt.” She took a few steps toward the exit Norephine and Obi-Wan had taken. “What I don’t understand is why _she’s_ the one with the lightsaber,” Arrica said, nodding toward Norephine. She gestured to Kelisian and Sarenee. “You two are the ones who pack a punch.”

“Norephine punches fine,” Sarenee countered. “And what do you know of the two of us?”

“Anakin told me the necessary backstory,” Arrica explained. She sized Sarenee up with a cursory glance. “He said you’re like me. A Force siren.”

Sarenee didn’t respond. She simply crossed her arms and gave Arrica a matching once-over.

Africa turned her attention to Kelisian. “And you, Princess Kelisian,” she chuckled. “I sensed the power in you at the party last night. I’m glad I was right.”

Kelisian’s eyes widened. Arrica had been the pretty girl she’d met last night before leaving the gala, the girl who asked her to dance. Ervane had laughed, but Kelisian could tell he was nervous she’d say yes. For a moment, she was tempted.

“At the party?” Sarenee asked incredulously. “ _You_ were invited?”

“I guess I forgot to introduce myself,” Arrica explained. She turned up her nose at Sarenee, which Kelisian knew would ignite her temper. “I thought Kelisian and I were getting along famously, but your date wasn’t as platonic as I hoped.”

Kelisian’s cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry, he’s… possessive.”

Arrica smirked. Somehow, not even a rejection could dull her confidence. Kelisian wondered how she’d managed that. Arrica put her hair into a ponytail and said, “What is he, your boyfriend?”

“No,” Kelisian laughed self-consciously.

“Husband?” Arrica inquired, one eyebrow raised.

Kelisian swallowed hard. “No.”

Africa turned away from Kelisian and retrieved a staff from the shelf on the wall. “Hard to be possessive of someone you have no claim over, don’t you think?”

Kelisian didn’t know what to say, but Anakin returned before she had the chance to stammer out a response.

“Kelisian, with me,” he said, beckoning her to follow him. “Sarenee and Arrica, you’re working together for the next hour or so.”

Arrica’s eyes gleamed as she looked at Sarenee. Sarenee just scowled.

Anakin worked with Kelisian on some basic fighting technique, the kind of things she suspected he’d already taught Norephine. In his words, she needed to be just as powerful without her Force powers as she was with them.

“Again,” he said, after disarming her with one hand behind his back. “You’re not going to defeat anybody fighting like that.”

Kelisian picked her makeshift sword up off the floor. This was nothing like dueling Norephine in the Suite. “Can’t you go a little easier on me?” she asked. She tried not to sound whiny, but a trace of her frustration slipped through. “You’re a Jedi. I’m a Princess. The playing field here isn’t level.”

“Agnamorus didn’t go easy on you last night,” Anakin shrugged. “You ended up unconscious on the wrong end of a baton. I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Kelisian sighed and lifted her saber. “Okay, fair point. Come at me again.”

They were hardly through their fourth match when footsteps echoed in from the next training room. Anakin gestured for Kelisian to lower her staff, and both of them looked to the doorway. 

Sarenee entered, her face red. She crossed her arms and glared at Anakin. “We’re rotating now,” she decided.

He raised an eyebrow. “Your time with Arrica isn’t up yet.”

“Yes, it is,” Sarenee said. She walked to the shelf and grabbed an identical staff to Kelisian’s, then proceeded to join Anakin and Kelisian on the mats.

Kelisian stood her ground and stepped between Sarenee and Anakin. “Sarenee, I’m still working. Can you deal with Arrica for ten more minutes?”

“No,” Sarenee said, and did not explain herself.

Anakin sighed wearily and looked apologetically at Kelisian. “Would you mind rotating early?”

Kelisian really didn’t want to, but she knew forcing Sarenee to wait her turn would only sour her mood further. She set down her staff on the table as she left the room and migrated into the next one.

It was her turn to train with Obi-Wan, since Arrica had requested Norephine next. In that arena, Obi-Wan was paging through a set of papers across from Norephine. She was getting a drink of water, apparently on a break. 

She smiled at Kelisian’s arrival. “Hey,” she greeted her. “What’s up?”

Kelisian sighed. “Sarenee got into it with Arrica, so we’re rotating early. Can I kick you out?”

Norephine shrugged, unbothered by the change of routine. “Sure. Obi-Wan’s too nice to me, anyway.”

Kelisian looked up at the man. He did seem kind, but not soft enough to warrant Norephine’s dismissal. “What do you mean, too nice?” she asked.

Norephine shook her head and waved the question away. “He hasn’t insulted me yet, is all,” she explained offhandedly. She screwed the top on her water and stood up to leave. “Have fun. I’ll go see what Arrica said to Sarenee to piss her off so much.”

“Wait,” Kelisian said, following her. “What did Anakin tell you to be discreet about?” she inquired softly.

Norephine looked over her shoulder to make sure Obi-Wan wasn’t listening, then answered. “He says Obi-Wan’s a stickler for the rules, and he told me to watch my mouth while I’m training with him.”

Kelisian nodded. That made sense. “Did you watch your mouth?”

Norephine smirked. “Mostly.”

“Lady Kelisian,” Obi-Wan called. “Are we rotating already?”

Kelisian turned around to face him. She smiled politely and left Norephine to her own devices. “Apparently so,” she said with a grin. “It doesn’t seem Sarenee and Arrica got along too well.”

Obi-Wan was unsurprised, but did Arrica the polite service of pretending to be. “Arrica is a unique personality,” he admitted. He set out a row of objects, increasing in size, and started to explain the practice he wanted her to do. Most of it centered on her developing telekinesis. While Kelisian practiced, the lights she’d noticed overhead sometimes fluctuated in brightness and color. 

“What’s that about?” she asked, after bringing a cinder block down on a piece of wood so hard that it broke in half. 

Obi-Wan looked up. “They’re open-source lights. They alter themselves based on Force activity in their vicinity, so we’re using them to measure your growing strength. If you dim them, you’re making progress. If you change their color completely, you’ve entirely broken through the barrier between you and the Force.”

That sounded half exciting and half threatening. “Cool,” Kelisian nodded. “Can you do it?”

Obi-Wan smiled mischievously, reached toward the broken plank of wood, and united the two pieces again. The lights briefly shifted green.

Kelisian laughed in delight. “I want to try.”

She worked for the whole hour, but barely succeeded in dimming the lights. They didn’t alter their color even once. After levitating objects up to an entire table, Kelisian finished her lesson with Obi-Wan with nothing but a headache to show for it. He was nice, Norephine was right about that, but she had neglected to mention how expressive he was. Kelisian found herself overexerting herself just to make him proud of her. On the bright side, it worked. He couldn’t praise her enough.

Sarenee knocked on the wall to draw Kelisian’s attention. The ball Kelisian had lifted into a vase dropped onto the mats and bounced twice before rolling away.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Anakin asked if you’re ready to call it a day,” Sarenee asked Obi-Wan. “He says all of our concentration will be better tomorrow, and we should head back to our quarters.”

Kelisian raised an eyebrow. “Tomorrow?”

Sarenee nodded. “Apparently, this is going to be an everyday thing. I have thoughts, but I’m saving them for the Suite.” She smiled at Obi-Wan instead of apologizing for excluding him from that conversation.

“That’s all right with me,” Obi-Wan said, in answer to Sarenee’s earlier question. 

She left the room to deliver the news to Anakin, and Kelisian started to help Obi-Wan with cleaning up.

He waved her off at first, smiling. “You don’t have to do that.”

Kelisian didn’t put down the vase. It was heavy, but not impossible to maneuver. “I can do it. You’re teaching all three of us for free, so it’s the least I can do.”

He did not protest any more. Working together, the room was cleared within a few minutes. 

“This place is amazing,” Kelisian said. She wiped a hand across her forehead to dry it. “Where exactly are we, anyway?”

“One of the training rooms for overflow from the Temple,” Obi-Wan explained.

Kelisian’s eyes twinkled. “Training?”

Obi-Wan was unshaken. He maintained a straight face and said again, “Not that we are training you.”

Kelisian gathered her things, said goodbye to Obi-Wan, and made her way back to the tunnel. Sarenee was already halfway to the stairs. On Kelisian’s way after her, she passed Norephine, who was adjusting her shoe. The room she and Arrica had been training in was now empty. 

“Bye, Nori,” Kelisian said as she passed the door.

Norephine scrambled to her feet and almost tripped. “Wait,” she called, leaning out of the doorway. She hesitated before speaking, but Kelisian made no move to abandon her. She waited for her to speak. 

After an embarrassed sigh, she did. “Can you walk back with me?” Norephine asked shyly.

At first, Kelisian was confused. Norephine was perfectly capable of being on her own. 

“Obi-Wan and Anakin are in the other room,” she pointed out. 

Norephine shook her head. “No, I asked. They’re going back to the Temple after this.”

It still didn’t hit her for a moment. Then, Kelisian recalled that being alone was to blame for Nori getting abducted only last night, and Kelisian’s heart ached to look at the girl. She couldn’t blame her for being afraid to walk alone. If Kelisian were in her shoes, she’d suspect an attack around every corner.

“Of course,” Kelisian obliged. She leaned against the opposite wall and waited for Norephine to finish tying her boot. “How was Arrica?”

Norephine grinned. “She’s cool.” She put her foot back on the floor and stood up. With a mischievous smile, she asked, “How was your date with Ervane?”

Kelisian giggled. “How did you hear about that?”

Norephine shrugged, and her smile reflected her delight. She started the walk back down the tunnel. “I ran into Padme this morning before I left. She was orchestrating what I would only describe as a quick-change between Ervane and some doorboy.”

“Reve,” Kelisian informed her. “It’s his new cover story for sneaking up here. But to answer your question, the date was nice, except for the part where he got an attitude about me being a princess.”

Norephine made a face. “What do you mean?”

Kelisian shrugged. “He basically said I didn’t deserve to have power if I wasn’t going to use it to help anybody. He was right, but he was really mean about it.”

The silence that followed made Kelisian nervous. She looked to Norephine, whose eyes flicked back and forth thoughtfully. 

“What?” Kelisian asked.

Norephine bit her lip. “Nothing, really. I think I have an idea, is all. I’m still stuck on him being a sentry. Ervane could be a great guard for us all, but mostly for you. Who could keep you safer than the guy who loves you?”

“Yeah,” Kelisian sighed, then processed Norephine’s words. “Wait, no--”

Norephine was already giggling. “He _loves_ you,” she repeated.

Kelisian’s cheeks went hot. She tried her best not to think about labels, and even better than her best not to think about the last time she’d used the L word on Ervane. “He’s a complicated man, Nori.”

“If you say so,” she singsonged. “He loves you, he loves you not--”

“Shut _up_ ,” Kelisian laughed, giving Norephine a playful shove.

Norephine spun in a circle as she walked ahead of Kelisian. Her iridescent hair glinted in the dim half-light of the tunnel and ignited Kelisian’s curiosity.

“Nori,” she said, “tell me again why your hair’s like that.”

Norephine reached up and felt her ponytail. “It’s a genetic mutation from my mom’s side. My sisters have it, too.”

Kelisian nodded, already aware of that part. “Did your mother have it?”

Norephine’s expression didn’t change, but she turned away and faced forward as she walked. “I don’t remember,” she admitted.

Kelisian heard the warning in her voice. As usual, she wasn’t eager to discuss her mother. Saying she was sensitive about the topic would be an oversimplification. Norephine’s mother was rarely of relevance, and thus, she rarely came up. Norephine insisted she didn’t think of her often, but Kelisian took the liberty of doubting that.

“Does your dad miss her?” Kelisian asked.

Norephine shrugged. She still didn’t look back. “Probably. I can’t imagine having three kids with somebody would make you indifferent to their disappearance.”

She wasn’t being facetious. Queen Brigite’s sudden disappearance and the mystery surrounding it was a hot topic throughout the galaxy when Norephine first arrived. Over the years, fascination had faded. The lack of closure became a replacement for closure itself, and, little by little, the missing Corellian queen fell into forgotten history. For all except her children, that is.

“Do you think you’ll try to find her?” Kelisian inquired as she followed Norephine up the stairs. She dreaded to walk all the way back up to the balcony.

Norephine answered too quickly. “She’s probably dead.”

“That’s not an answer,” Kelisian countered. 

Norephine was quiet for a long moment, and Kelisian couldn’t tell if she was pondering a response or ending the conversation. She just followed her, step for step, to the top of the stairs.

“This won’t make sense,” she said at last, “but I feel like the whole… Mother thing, it’s like staring into a sun.”

Kelisian didn’t speak. She waited for the explanation that was sure to come.

Norephine ascended six more steps before continuing. “I think if I just keep my head down and acknowledge that it’s there, it’s not going away, then I can deal with it. But if I start asking about it, or thinking too much about it, or dealing with all the weird missing pieces… I don’t know if I could do that for long,” she said. Norephine sighed with both physical and emotional exertion. “I think it’s easier to just… not look at the sun.”

Kelisian found herself nodding, although she had no idea how to relate. “I think you should do what you think is best,” she replied supportively.

“I plan on it,” Norephine nodded. She exited the stairwell and stepped onto the sun-soaked balcony. 

Kelisian followed, squinting her eyes. “What do we do for the rest of the day?” she asked.

Norephine beamed. “I don’t know. I’m in the mood for causing some trouble, though.”

Kelisian groaned and followed Nori as she skipped off toward the door to the hallway. “Do we have to? I had my fill of trouble last night.”

“Of course you don’t,” Norephine agreed. She walked backward through the hall on the way back to the Suite. “I intend to, though. Why don’t you get to work convincing Ervane to man up and tell you he loves you?”

“We’re back to that?” Kelisian groaned.

Norephine giggled and turned around as she neared the door to the Suite. “He loves you, he loves you not, he loves you--”

She started to talk again, but hardly a peep escaped as she stopped in her tracks so quickly that Kelisian ran into her back. 

Kelisian peered over Norephine’s shoulder and understood her surprise. Outside the door to their quarters, Ervane waited, once again in his mechanic’s clothing. He had been chatting with the man who had pursued Sarenee for hours the night before, but he wasn’t talking now. He and the blond man were both staring at Norephine and Kelisian.

Kelisian knew she wasn’t lucky enough for Ervane not to have heard what Nori said. He took a step toward them and Norephine unfroze.

She swore and peeled Kelisian off her back. “Now, I’m going to go find Lysadora,” she excused herself quickly.

Kelisian stepped after her, not ready to be left alone with him for a second-- third?-- time today, and certainly not prepared to deal with the aftermath of what he’d overheard. “No, Nori, get back here.”

Norephine was already scurrying away. “Have fun with your boyfriend,” she shouted, loud enough that Ervane definitely heard.

When Kelisian looked toward him again, he was amused. “What was that about?” he asked, even though he definitely knew.

Kelisian swallowed hard. “My other boyfriend,” she excused herself. “The one who’s--”

“Not me?” Ervane finished. He was still smirking like he knew something she didn’t. “You know, to have an _other_ boyfriend, one who’s _not me_ , I would need to be your boyfriend in the first place.”

Kelisian felt her heart drop through the floor. She would kill Norephine later. “I don’t think that’s necessarily true,” she said, even though it was. “I think we’ve learned what happens when I allow scrappy ship mechanics access to my heart.”

Although she laughed as she spoke in an attempt to decrease the tension, Ervane must have heard the truth in her words. He didn’t laugh with her. His gaze lingered on her face for a moment longer than it needed to, but Kelisian told herself she imagined it. It was quiet, but neither moved. She waited-- for what, she wasn’t entirely sure. Something tugged her forward, urging her to act, but she did not. Her frazzled mind couldn’t quite comprehend what it was she wanted to be doing.

Ervane reached forward and traced a callused fingertip down Kelisian’s temple. She felt all her nerves coil like a spring wound to its tightest as he tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear. He brushed against her cheek as he pulled his hand back and took her hand.

“If you gave me the chance,” Ervane said honestly, eyes downcast with respect. His voice was soft, quiet enough that no one but Kelisian was privileged enough to hear his words. “I wouldn’t break it again.”

Kelisian’s voice evaporated. Ervane squeezed her hand only enough for her to notice, then released her. Kelisian allowed her hand to fall to her side, her motion far more natural than the state of her heart. He turned as if it was nothing, as if the touch was a favor he would have done for anyone. Kelisian knew that it was not, but she retired to her quarters anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been forever because i'm bad at actually doing things, but i have evil plans now. i promised myself i wouldn't plan things but now i'm doing it anyway.


	12. american idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While reuniting with her sisters, Norephine decides it's time to grow up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this got really long but i like badassery and i'm not sorry

“You could’ve gotten killed.”

Norephine lunged, missed, and barely kept herself upright as she stumbled past Anakin. She righted herself and huffed in frustration. “Obviously, that wasn’t on my mind when I went to talk to my  _ dad. _ ” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, let out a breath, and made another attack.

Her metal rod clanged against his, and both began an attempt to twist the other’s blade free of their grip. Norephine looked up and reached for his forearm as a backhanded attempt to lessen the pressure opposing her blade. Anakin countered the strategy with an even stronger hand on her wrist and a push that forced her to lower her blade. Arm trembling with the effort, Norephine pushed back against him to no avail.

“If you’re going to survive,” Anakin warned her, “you’re going to need to grow up.”

Norephine scowled and took a step forward. It forced Anakin to mirror the motion by stepping back and, for a moment, lighten the pressure on her saber. She forced her arm back up to counter his.

“I’m not here to become jaded.” She smirked triumphantly at the small victory. “I’m not a child. I don’t need to grow up.”

“You’re right about one thing,” Anakin admitted. There was a bored glaze over his eyes that irritated Norephine even more than she already was. “You aren’t a child. That just makes it worse that you have delusions of a kind universe.”

“It’s not a delusion,” she snapped. Her saber fell to her side, her grip loose with sweat. “The universe  _ is _ kind.”

“You’re not sleeping,” Anakin observed.

He was right. Norephine’s lips parted, but she didn’t have time to speak before Anakin forced his saber down again. He was easily stronger than her. Her saber lowered so far that it skimmed her shoulder, and Norephine had no choice but to give it up. She ducked out from under both blades and came up swinging. Anakin engaged her in a little more combat this time, but, once again, Norephine found herself pushed back by his makeshift saber like she wasn’t even a worthy opponent. 

“You’re haunted by what happened to you, and you don’t know what to do with all that pain,” he said casually. “You think I don’t know why you asked to train before the sun rose?”

Norephine scowled. “Stop reading my mind.”

“I’m not.”

“Then stop guessing correctly.”

Anakin smiled, but it was fueled by condescension. It was the smile given to children full of hope, to cute animals receiving baths. It was not a smile Norephine wanted aimed at her.

“The universe is nothing but space and the objects that occupy it,” Anakin argued. “It would need to be conscious to be kind.”

Norephine knew he made a solid point, but she didn’t like the conclusions it led her to. There had always been something keeping her safe, out of danger, protected. If it wasn’t the universe, then there was something else shielding her. She didn’t know what it was, or what to do about it once she uncovered its truth.

Still, she straightened her spine and tightened her grip on her saber. “I will not be lectured to abandon all hope,” Norephine maintained. Her voice reflected her stubbornness, which she realized made her sound quite young.

“Call it what you want,” he dismissed her. Anakin spun his saber in one hand lazily. “Hope, optimism, innocence. I just hope you can identify that it’s what got you dragged to Corellia.”

Norephine’s jaw dropped. Her cheeks flamed with indignance. “You’re saying this is  _ my _ fault?” she demanded, coupling the exclamation with an attack from her mock saber. 

Anakin parried it without a second glance. “I’m saying your naivete has already gotten you and your friends into deadly danger once, and I don’t know why you expect it not to happen again.” 

He entertained her with a flourish of his saber before lunging toward her. Norephine spun out of reach in a whirlwind of pink-white hair. When she found her footing again, she didn’t hesitate before striking back. Again, he batted her away.

Norephine couldn’t help the groan of frustration that escaped her. “I’m not naive--” she tried to mimic his flourish and nearly took a hit from his saber-- “for seeing the best in people.”

He scoffed, the sound dripping condescension. “You are beyond the luxury of seeing the best in people, Lady Leela,” Anakin reminded her. “Your own father tried to use you like a battery. Would you have seen the best in him while he drained you of your soul, or while you wasted away?”

There was a room she’d seen while on Corellia. A room Agnamorus took her to, while she was sleepwalking. He’d whispered something about her resting place. Norephine did not remember much from her fugue state, but it would have been hard to forget the cold, clinical machine and the chamber that looked unsettlingly like a tomb. 

_ He has no idea _ .

“The universe is not looking out for you,” Anakin argued, successfully swatting Norephine’s ponytail with his saber. “You pay people to do that.”

Norephine made a face. “What?” she demanded, so inflamed that she almost forgot to parry Anakin’s next attack.

“Your sentries,” he said. “The guards of the Senate, the Handmaids, the Jedi. You think it’s the universe protecting you, but it’s not. It’s us.”

Norephine swallowed hard and locked his saber above his head once again. This time, she would not be forced away. “Make your point,” she said through gritted teeth.

Anakin wasn’t even breaking a sweat. “My point is,” he said, forcing her arm down with enough power to make her muscles quiver, “you live in a bubble and think it’s the whole galaxy.”

“I don’t live in a bubble!” she protested.

“There’s a reason they call you three the Painted Ladies,” Anakin countered offhandedly. “You sit and look pretty and do nothing at all.”

Norephine kicked him in the shin. Anakin sucked in a breath and jerked away from her. 

She hadn’t even thought about it before acting upon the impulse. Now that he was grimacing, Norephine realized he deserved it. She was done training for the day.

“You’re not my master,” she reminded him harshly, “and I am  _ not _ a Painted Lady.” She tossed her saber to the floor and pulled herself up to her full height.

Anakin righted himself while gritting his teeth. “I was repeating the words of others, thank you,” he grumbled. “I’ll remind you, Norephine, that you won’t ever have a master. You might be a princess, even if you’re a false one, but you’re never going to be a Jedi.”

Norephine’s anger flared. Something about his tone, or maybe his condescending stare, looked too familiar. She got close enough to whisper. “And no matter how far you go, you’ll always be a nobody from some stupid desert. I don’t answer to you.”

Anakin’s eyes widened in surprise. Norephine felt a dark satisfaction well up in the pit of her stomach at the shock she registered on his face. She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she walked past him. Sarenee and Kelisian would be proud of her for finally having a spine, although she did wonder if she could’ve been more delicate.

“Oh, really?” Anakin sneered.

Norephine didn’t even get the chance to turn around. She should’ve been ready for it, but when Anakin struck her in the head with the end of his baton, she hit the ground hard. Pain thundered through her synapses and overwhelmed her conscious mind. She swam through a sea of violet half-consciousness, only interrupted by faint sounds of the watery world above.

“What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t actually mean to hit her,” a second voice argued. That one she recognized.

Norephine struggled to open her eyes, and her only reward for doing so was an immediate bolt of pain through her temple. She reached up and pressed her palm to the side of her head with a groan of pain. “What--?”

Sarenee was kneeling at her side, but her green eyes weren’t on Norephine. She was glaring at Anakin, flanking Norephine on her other side. When she realized Norephine was regaining consciousness, Sarenee refocused on her. “What happened?” she asked urgently.

Norephine grimaced. The strip lights above hurt her eyes. “I mouthed off and Anakin whacked me in the head,” she explained briefly. She pulled her hand away from her head to check for blood and, sure enough, warm crimson stained her fingertips.

“Look what you did!” Sarenee exclaimed, shooting Anakin a glare that could’ve melted ice. She reached up and inspected Norephine’s hairline where the blood was beginning to flow. “You got it in her hair, kamikaze.”

Anakin pursed his lips and said, “She really did mouth off.”

Norephine didn’t bother rolling her eyes at him. Her head hurt too much and, besides, Sarenee did it for her.

“How about this?” Anakin offered. His tone was tolerant and negotiable. “Every day’s a learning day. Nori, do you remember what you worked on yesterday?”

Norephine wrinkled her nose. “The Force healing stuff?”

Anakin nodded. “It’s better for you to practice, so nobody will be able to be able to use your natural predisposition against you. Control is everything.”

“Yeah, I was listening,” Norephine nodded. “You think I’m ready to heal myself like that? Really?”

Anakin shrugged. “We’ll never know until we try. Do you think you’re up to it?”

Norephine glanced at Sarenee, who gave a hesitant nod of agreement. “I think it sounds like a great idea, as long as Anakin’s volunteering.”

“No,” Norephine protested, at the same time he said, “Of course.”

She looked back at Anakin in shock. “I’m not  _ good _ at it yet. How do you know I won’t pull all your life out?”

“I’ll pull back harder,” he countered. “Besides, it’s my fault you’re bleeding.”

He was right, but Norephine was still nervous. It must’ve shown on her face, because Anakin put his hand on the wound without giving warning. Norephine flinched as the injury started throbbing all over again, and Sarenee reached up to push his arm down.

He spoke before she did. “I’m making it easier for her to siphon energy,” he explained, maintaining Sarenee’s gaze. “She won’t have to pull it as far if I’m already touching her.”

Norephine’s grimace began to fade. “So do I just… start?”

He nodded. “Do what we talked about.”

Norephine closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, ignoring the persistent ache in her temple. One at a time, she imagined unplugging each of her senses, slipping backwards and down. Heartbeat by heartbeat, Norephine felt the world becoming less real, and the darkness more dimensional. Taste and smell fell away first, followed rapidly by sight-- there wasn’t much to see behind her closed eyes, anyway.

“What’s she doing?” Sarenee asked. 

Anakin shushed her, and Norephine would have snickered if she hadn’t already slipped too far away. She heard something else and waited for Anakin to shush it, too. After a moment, she realized it was coming from inside her head.

It was a low hum that, as Norephine focused in on it, became a rhythm. She sunk into the sound and into the darkness, sinking until she felt her feet touch something solid. As she focused, she realized it was not her heart she heard thundering. Her own cardiac rhythm was closer, surrounding her. This one was separate from her. Quieter, she heard a third beat, but she tuned it out. Entirely out of her corporeal body, apart from the world, Norephine reached towards the sound. 

It became light at her touch. Light, behind her eyelids, within her mind. The light flowed into her hand and illuminated her from the inside out, rushing through her bloodstream along with the pounding of her heart.

“Good,” said a voice from outside the dark.

Norephine didn’t let it break her focus. She held onto the light until it lifted her off her feet and pushed her back to the surface. She floated up and up like rising through water, until her eyes opened and she found herself looking at Anakin, who was slightly grimacing.

Behind him, Sarenee wore a stare of shock. “I didn’t know you could do that already.”

Anakin lowered his hand from Norephine’s head and opened his eyes. “She’s thick-skulled, but she’s like any stubborn machine,” he jabbed. “Works better when you hit it.”

Norephine rolled her eyes. “That’s not scientifically sound advice.” She reached up and gingerly ran her fingertips over where her injury had been moments ago, but found nothing. She smiled in delight. “It worked!”

“I knew you could,” Anakin shrugged. “There’s no way your father could’ve used you as a life support machine if you didn’t already have a silent sensitivity.”

Norephine stared at him as a trickle of blood escaped from his hairline, an identical injury to the one she’d just healed herself of. When Anakin met her eyes, she looked away. She’d hurt him, whether or not he’d invited her to, and she didn’t know how to feel about that.

“Silent sensitivities,” Sarenee said. “Those are the ones that don’t involve exploding stuff or doing parkour, right?”

Norephine nodded, eager for a distraction from Anakin’s bleeding. “Force healing and mind tricks-- like your siren song.” 

Something occurred to her, and she frowned, deliberating. Norephine’s mind was starting to draw a connection, but she wasn’t sure what it meant.

“What’s that look about?” Sarenee asked.

The night she’d first asked Anakin to help her learn to fight. She’d heard a disembodied voice and felt a strike on her head, just like the one he’d dealt her a minute ago. 

“I think… I had a premonition,” Norephine said hesitantly. She wasn’t sure if that was the right word for what she was realizing.

Sarenee’s brows knit together. “What was it about? What’s going to happen?”

Norephine shook her head, trying to clarify her own thoughts. “No, I mean I had a premonition  _ of this _ . Of Anakin clocking me in the head, specifically.”

“You’d think that would’ve given you enough time to avoid it,” Sarenee chuckled. 

Anakin interrupted there. “No, I think it’s the opposite,” he explained. “From what I know of Force premonitions, they’re… all but unavoidable, once they’ve been witnessed.” He swallowed hard, a shadow of dread passing across his face before evaporating. “Norephine was doomed to get hit in the head the second she knew it was coming.”

Norephine rubbed her temple again, despite her injury being gone. “That’s ominous,” she muttered. “How do I get better at them?”

Anakin shook his head. “Same way as other skills, in theory, but they usually occur spontaneously. You can’t learn to dream the whole future.”

Norephine scoffed. “Don’t I wish I could. I could find out where my dad’s gone and save myself the trip home.” She looked down at her implant and realized she was already behind. “I have to get out of here, anyway. Ervane set me up with a pilot to take me to Corellia.”

Sarenee’s brow lifted in mild curiosity. “You’re going home?”

“Ervane gave me an idea,” Norephine explained to both Anakin and Sarenee. “I think I need to make a couple things right, so I’m headed to Coronet City. I’m gonna try and dig up clues about where dear old Dad slithered off to while I’m there.”

“And I’m here to escort her downstairs,” Kelisian chirped from the door. She smiled at her three friends and held Norephine’s bag out to her. “Come on, gossamer. Don’t keep our sentry waiting.”

Norephine said her goodbyes to Anakin and Sarenee. She slipped into an empty training room and changed out of her athletic clothes, donning a gown her father would’ve hated. She then joined Kelisian on the way to the repair bay. Kelisian had asked to see her off when Norephine first broached the idea of returning home, and she appreciated the companionship as she walked. It kept her mind off the growing knot of anxiety in her stomach.

“You’re in a better mood today,” Kelisian observed.

Norephine nodded her firm agreement. “It helps to start the day with activity. I feel less like a useless princess in an ivory tower.”

“Now, that you are not,” Kelisian countered. “You’re going home to do the opposite of what an ivory tower princess would do. I’m proud of you.”

Nori smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She didn’t know why the words rubbed her the wrong way today.

“What’s that look for?”

Of course she noticed. Norephine lifted her head and sighed. “I don’t like it when you treat me like a little girl. It didn’t bother me before the other night with my father, but now… I don’t like being reminded of how helpless I am.”

“You’re not helpless, Nori,” Kelisian argued. She stopped on the stairs out of the training hall and turned to face Norephine. “You’re getting stronger already, like you said you wanted to. I can see that.”

Norephine shook her head. “That’s not enough. It’s too slow.”

“You’ll get there one day.”

“How soon is one day?” Norephine snapped.

Kelisian’s expression crumpled, then became a pout. “You sound like you did that morning in your tower.”

Norephine knew she was being irrational, but she couldn’t sort through the feelings she was full of. They battled to get out all at once. “I was scared.”

“I know you were scared, and you have a right to be,” Kelisian explained evenly. Her pout smoothed over. “I just haven’t ever seen you so angry. It was strange.”

Norephine tightened her grip on the strap of her bag. “I didn’t mean to sound angry. I just can’t face the idea of being helpless.” she avoided Kelisian’s eyes, knowing they’d be brimming with empathy. Norephine didn’t want to cry right now. “If I were to be taken again, what do I have that my father doesn’t?”

“Hope,” Kelisian said, and smiled in a way that told Norephine she was thinking of Ervane. Kelisian met Norephine’s eyes once again. “That’s what you have.”

“Hope,” Norephine repeated. The word felt short and blunt on her tongue. It was no solace. Norephine swallowed hard and asked the question that had weighed on her all morning. “Is that wise?”

Kelisian’s eyes softened. She tucked a lock of hair behind Norephine’s ear and said, “I don’t need you to be wise. I need you to be  _ you _ .”

She walked towards the door with a confidence that Norephine wished she had. Norephine did not immediately follow. She knew, rationally, that Kelisian had meant that her optimism was a good attribute, rather than a weakness. Still, Norephine couldn’t help but wonder what it meant that wisdom was  _ not  _ one of her attributes. It was also desirable, wasn’t it? 

Kelisian led the way for Norephine all the way into the workshop. They spoke no more of Agnamorus or of the training. Norephine followed in her train, all the way to Ervane’s little alcove. He beamed at Kelisian’s presence, but Norephine interrupted before the two could disappear into their own little universe.

“Do you mind if I sleep on the trip?” she asked. “I trained this morning and I’m exhausted.”

That was a lie. She was exhausted because she hadn’t slept more than two hours since coming back from Corellia the first time. Anakin had called her out on it, and she didn’t like how it felt to be transparent.

“I thought it was specifically  _ not _ training,” Ervane teased her. Kelisian swatted at his arm and he chuckled, then nodded at someone behind Norephine. “That is Dygstra,” Ervane said offhandedly. “She’s taking you home.”

Norephine turned around. Approaching the alcove was a young woman with auburn hair in two stacked ponytails. Her face was sprinkled with freckles, but no smile. 

Nori started to smile and was about to say hello, but she finished processing what Ervane said and wrinkled her nose. She looked at Ervane in confusion. “I thought you were flying us there.”

Ervane shook his head. “I’m not exactly eager to go back to Corellia for the second time this week, and I’ve got to train for my second job, anyway. You know, the one based on guarding you.”

Dygstra reached the loading bay. Norephine caught the glance Kelisian cast the new girl’s way-- a warning to keep her distance from Ervane. 

“I don’t need guarding,” Norephine protested.

“Of course not, Painted Lady,” Dygstra jabbed. She was smiling now, but Norephine detected a sliver of true disdain in her smirk. “I’m sure you can defend yourself with that dress on. Or did you plan ahead, and there’s a combat gown in your backpack?”

“What did you call me?” Norephine demanded sharply.

Dygstra feigned innocence. She batted her hazel eyes at Norephine. “Sorry, Princess, did I hurt your feelings?” She looked away before Norephine had the chance to respond and looked at Ervane. “I’m gonna program the autopilot. Send her up when she’s ready.”

Norephine straightened, but failed to find any words that repaired her honor. Not even Kelisian was armed with wit, for once. 

Norephine stammered out a feeble, “I’m standing right here,” before Dygstra turned away and entered the cockpit. Norephine looked back to Ervane, desperation in her eyes. “Please don’t make me go all the way to Corellia with someone who hates me,” she pleaded.

“She’s a good pilot,” Ervane argued patiently.

“She’s a prickly bitch,” Norephine countered, loud enough for Dygstra to hear.

Kelisian smirked. “A pretty one, though.”

Ervane rolled his eyes, but Kelisian’s smile didn’t crack. 

Norephine huffed and asked the question that was plaguing her. “Do people really call us Painted Ladies?” Her cheeks heated at the very use of the phrase.

Ervane avoided her eyes, and she knew his answer before he spoke it.

“Oh, no,” she muttered. “Who says that?”

Ervane shrugged. “Usually people ranking below you, or your equals when you’re not in the room.”

Kelisian made a face. “What’s a Painted Lady?”

“I’ll explain when we get the little one out of here,” Ervane said calmly. 

Norephine’s mind raced. She was too preoccupied with the derogatory nickname to focus on Ervane calling her ‘the little one’. How many people had always secretly hated her for her inaction? She once again voiced her confusion. “We don’t do anything, though. Why don’t they like us?”

Ervane huffed out a laugh through his nose. “You don’t do anything. Why  _ should _ they like you?”

Norephine had no answer. She looked to Kelisian, who offered her nothing but a sympathetic half-smile. She looked like she’d heard this before.

Ervane sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, Princess, you’re going to have to get used to people not liking you. Real life isn’t like your palace, where people are paid to be nice to you. If you want to be the galaxy’s sweetheart again, why don’t you start by doing something to help?”

Norephine frowned. “Like what?”

“You’re the princess,” Ervane shrugged. “You figure that one out.”

Norephine huffed. She wasn’t sure how to even approach the problem. Thinking about how she definitely should know that sort of thing, being a princess and all, only irritated her more. Her father had cheated her and her sisters out of their own power by keeping them in the dark.

“Lady Leela, I’m ready when you are,” Dygstra called from the cockpit of the ship.

Norephine pouted at Ervane, but he was unmoved. “Don’t keep her waiting,” he nodded urgently. “You think she’s got an attitude now, but it can get a lot worse.”

The workshop filled with noise at the next mechanic over activated a saw tool. Norephine grimaced at the awful sound, but took it as her cue. She hugged Kelisian and said goodbye to Ervane, then boarded the ship.

Dygstra sat in the cockpit and fiddled with the engine settings. She said nothing to Norephine as she entered, and nothing as she went to the passenger seating area and found a place. Norephine had no issue with the silence as she settled into a comfortable chair, curled her legs beneath her, and fell asleep. 

She dreamed of the trance she’d been in the last time she was on Corellia. She dreamed of being led upstairs to her bedroom, and of the interruption that prevented her from getting there. Nellie, backpack on her shoulders, caught in the hallway, mid-escape.

Things got fuzzy after that, but she remembered her youngest sister’s running footsteps. A couple guards pursued her. Norephine didn’t remember if they caught her, but she hoped not. Nellie was notoriously light on her feet.

The ship’s landing gear squealed and startled Nori from her sleep. She blinked awake and watched as Coronet City grew larger before the windshield of the ship, the white light of day pouring over Dygstra’s chestnut hair. The ship landed in the main square directly in front of the castle made of silver. Norephine gathered her things as Dygstra emerged from the cockpit.

“That place must be roasting in the summer,” she commented, nodding toward the castle.

Norephine was surprised to hear no vitriol in her voice, but she shrugged. “It’s not too bad. We have air technicians who keep it cool without burning up the city’s power.” She exited the ship, heading for the front stairway of her childhood home.

The square had once been a courtyard, but after Brigite’s disappearance, no one had tended to it. Agnamorus was never one for nurturing, which came as no surprise to the plants or his children. Since the remodel, the landing area was shining gray marble and the statue that had been steadily falling into disrepair since Norephine’s childhood.

Dygstra exhaled a laugh. “She looks familiar,” she said, nodding toward the statue ahead of her.

On a pedestal that stood exactly in the center of the square, a shining iron Agnamorus stood proudly and looked out over the city. At his feet were all three of his daughters, also metal. Norephine remembered posing for the statue like it was yesterday. 

Even if she didn’t, the evidence was in plain sight. On the pedestal, a ten-year-old Norephine beamed, sitting at Agnamorus’ right hand on an elaborate stool. Her hands were folded in her lap, her metal hair glinting in the afternoon sun. Neera stood on the other side of her father, smiling off into the shopping district. Nellie sat at the front of the pedestal, dangling her legs over the edge and smirking like she knew a secret.

Behind the pedestal, the stairs up to the front of the castle shone like layers of an iron cake. At the top of them stood two familiar figures. Nori knew, the moment she saw her flesh-and-blood sisters, that there was quite a day ahead. Nyrane looked as if she could barely contain her excitement. Nelameena, on the other hand, was slouching beside her like she’d rather be anywhere else at all. She was leaning on her hip, arms crossed, and wearing her best glare. She looked just like Agnamorus, save for the pearl-white hair swishing above her shoulders. She’d cut it since Norephine saw her last.

Norephine whispered a plea to whatever gods were listening and ascended the stairs. “I’m so glad you two are all right,” she called over the dying sound of the engine. 

Nyrane met Norephine halfway down the steps and dove into her arms. Norephine inhaled deeply as her sister’s hair brushed her cheek, the scent of her shampoo familiar and calming. 

When Nyrane pulled away, she rested her hands on Norephine’s shoulders. Even standing on the step above her, Neera was only a few inches taller than Norephine. “We didn’t know what happened last night until word got out across the city,” she scolded her. “Why didn’t you call us as soon as you were safe?”

Nori shrugged. “I had a busy day yesterday, and I honestly didn’t know what I would tell you.” She gestured toward her companion. “This is Dygstra, my pilot. She’s accompanying me for the day.”

Dygstra gave a polite bow. “Dygstra Verdaneer, your ladyships.”

Nyrane nodded politely in Dygstra’s direction, but Nelameena continued to scowl at no one in particular. Norephine ignored the latter.

“Dygstra,” Norephine continued, “meet my sisters: Princesses Nyrane and Nelameena. They do me a favor and keep this planet running while I’m off being a Painted Lady.”

Nyrane made a face. “A what?”

“I’ll explain later,” Norephine dismissed her easily.

Dygstra struggled with keeping a blank expression, but Norephine saw the laughter in her eyes. She looked prettier when she was amused.

“How is everything on Coruscant?” Nyrane continued, not missing a beat. Despite being Agnamorus’ second-favorite, she’d somehow absorbed the greatest percentage of his etiquette lessons.

Norephine beamed. “It’s lovely, but I’m actually here for a reason. I’m meeting with the High Council.”

Nyrane’s eyes widened but, before she could speak, Nellie scoffed. Both her older sisters looked back at her expectantly.

“Do you have notes, Nell?” Neera asked patiently.

“Nell?” Norephine asked indignantly. She looked to her youngest sister in confusion. “What happened to that second syllable?”

Nellie--  _ Nell _ \-- straightened her spine. “I outgrew it,” she said in a clipped tone. “And as far as the High Council goes,” she directed at Norephine, “good luck doing anything but entertaining them.” She turned and went inside without further explanation.

Nori looked at Neera in bewilderment.

Neera simply sighed. “She’s mad at you because of what happened the other night.”

“When I was with Dad?” Nori confirmed.

Neera nodded. “I can’t get the details out of her but, apparently, you ruined some plan of hers and she’s vowed never to be nice to you again.”

Norephine rolled her eyes. “Oh, stars, how will I cope?”

“Don’t be snide,” Neera chided her. She led the way into the castle for both Nori and Dygstra. “You know how she gets. She probably thinks you undermined her to prove a point.”

Dygstra chuckled. “Is that something that happens often, Lady Leela?”

Nori scowled and ignored her. “Can we eat something before my meeting? I burned off my breakfast.”

Nyrane nodded considerately. “I thought you might be hungry, so I had food brought to the girls’ room upstairs. Dygstra, you can come if you’d like.”

Dygstra smiled, but it evaporated a mere moment later. “I appreciate the offer, Princess, but I think I’ll explore the city.”

Nori made a face. “Are you sure? We have delicious brunch, if you--”

“No, thank you,” Dygstra interrupted. She looked uncomfortable. “If you’re ready to leave, go to the ship. It’ll notify me of your arrival and I’ll come right back.”

Norephine tried to keep the disappointment off her face as she nodded. “Okay. Be careful.”

Dygstra rolled her eyes. “It’s Coronet City, Painted Lady, not a battlefield. I’ll be fine.”

With that, she was off. Her silhouette was turned to shadow by the bright light of day outside the palace doors. It shone off her hair and turned it copper.

“She’s a strange girl,” Neera observed. “How do you know her again?”

“I don’t,” Norephine said shortly. She turned away from Dygstra and continued into the castle. The farther the sisters walked, the less clinical the decor became. She saw paintings by Nell and various evidence of Neera’s presence-- satin scarves, lost jewelry, to-do lists.

Nell, despite her attitude, joined them in the girls’ room for brunch. She mostly sulked on the opposite side of Neera, but her presence was enough. Norephine didn’t need her to be happy to hear the truth.

“I need to warn you,” Nori began gently, “that Dad is an enemy of the galaxy.”

Nell giggled.

Neera kept a straight face, but said, “Are we supposed to be shocked?”

They were always like this, intentionally hard to startle. Nell, especially, had a problem with taking things seriously. Neera, at the very least, made an effort. Norephine pursed her lips and tried again. “He put me in a dreamstate and compelled me to feed him my life force.”

No one laughed after that.

Neera leaned forward over her plate. “Tell me what happened.”

Norephine did. Neera only interrupted to ask questions to clarify details. Nell didn’t speak at all. When she was finished, she frowned down at her food. It was lukewarm, but she started eating it anyway.

“Why would he do that to you?” Nyrane demanded. She looked to Nelameena for backup, but found none. Nellie’s brown eyes were glazed over and gazing out the window.

“He’s been sculpting me into the perfect battery since I was born,” Norephine shrugged, speaking through a mouthful of pastry.

Nyrane shook her head in disbelief. “He’s cold, but I can’t believe this. I can’t believe he would do such a thing.”

“Believe it, Neera,” Norephine said sharply. “I’m here to warn you that he might come for you next, if he’s stuck on using his children as batteries.”

“Dead with Dad is better than alive in this dump,” Nell scoffed.

It was the first time she’d spoken since coming upstairs, and it was snide. Norephine sighed wearily, knowing it would irritate Nell. She leaned forward and spoke in her most condescending tone. “I know you’re fearless, Nellie, but maybe listen to me for once.”

Nell’s face flushed. “I was about to ditch this place forever just so I wouldn’t have to.”

Norephine stopped. She’d never seen Nell so angry. “What are you talking about?” she asked, speaking in her usual tone this time.

“I was escaping,” Nelameena hissed. “I was getting off this godforsaken planet before it fell to the wolves, and you ruined it!”

Norephine’s mouth opened and closed in shock. Where would Nelameena escape to? Who were the wolves? She had more questions than answers, and Nell was offering nothing to ease her spinning mind. When she found her voice again, Norephine asked, “What are you talking about, Nellie?”

Nelameena stormed over to her desk and pulled open the bottom drawer on the left. She presented folded-up diagrams of a ship like none other Norephine had ever seen. Nell laid the plans on the table. Neera and Nori both stood up to better see them.

“My friends from outside the castle planned to build this thing,” Nell said through gritted teeth. “My job was to steal a bunch of Dad’s energy cores from the lower decks to power the ship. On my way out, the castle locked down. One of the energy cores got hit by a laser grid, and the southern wing almost blew up and took me with it.”

Norephine realized her mouth was hanging open with shock. She closed it and asked, “What happened to your friends?”

“They’re fine,” Nell snapped. “They just hate me for ruining their escape plan. That was the one night when the Council wasn’t watching the sky.”

No wonder Sarenee and Kelisian had gotten in so easily. Even earlier, Norephine had absently overheard Dygstra swearing as she entered half a dozen security codes to make it to Coronet City. It was jumping through hoops at risk of being shot out of the sky.

“I’m sorry,” Norephine said. “I didn’t mean to set off the alarms. Father did that all on his own.”

Nell shook her head. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose, but you never do anything on purpose. You don’t do anything at all.”

Norephine wanted to protest, but she knew her sister was right. She swallowed hard. “I know, Nell.”

The three sisters stood in silence, looking down at Nell’s plans for the ship. Norephine tilted her head as she studied the engine layout. She didn’t recognize it, but something about it intrigued her. “What did you say this was powered by?”

“Energy cores Dad stores in the lower decks,” Nell said. “I don’t know the specifics. Skelter does the engine work, I focus on aero- and astrodynamics.”

Norephine took the diagram in her hands. “Can I borrow this?” she asked eagerly.

Nell shrugged. “It’s not much use to me now. There’s not going to be another window of opportunity.”

Norephine gently folded the diagram and slipped it in her pocket. “I’ll bring it back. Don’t lose hope about your escape plan yet.”

“Oh, right, you’re meeting with the Council,” Nell rolled her eyes. She turned away from the table. “Let me know how that goes.”

It was clear from her tone that she didn’t expect much. Norephine silently vowed to prove her wrong. 

“I need to speak with Dygstra,” she excused herself. “Nell, don’t go escaping again.”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Nell grumbled.

Norephine couldn’t get out of the castle fast enough. She had to lift her skirts out of the way to avoid tripping as she ran down the front stairs, squinting in the midday light. The ship was unlocked, as promised, and a radar alert went off as soon as Norephine entered.

She didn’t know how long Dygstra would be, so she took her seat in the cockpit. Despite growing up on a planet known for its extraordinary ship builders, Norephine was not a talented pilot. She didn’t know what half the controls before her did.

She didn’t wait long. About five minutes after she’d arrived, Dygstra entered through the cockpit door. She looked Norephine up and down, a princess in the pilot’s chair, and said, “Can I help you?”

Norephine smiled and took the diagram out of her pocket. “What kind of engine is this?”

Dygstra unfolded the paper and studied Nell’s neatly drawn lines. She nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a fusion collider. Only runs on hyper-powerful energy cores that it attempts to merge together despite their opposing polarity, and uses that opposition to create power.”

Norephine nodded, trying to follow along. “How common are they?”

“Not very, but not because they’re complicated,” Dygstra explained with a shrug. “Sort of the opposite. They’re very simple, construction-wise, and a lot of times we’re trained on building mock fusion colliders. The problem is that energy cores that are compatible with these kinds of engines are few and far between. I’ve never even seen one.”

Norephine’s brow furrowed. How did Agnamorus get his hands on them?

“Did you know your sisters are the only teenagers in this city who aren’t syndicate-affiliated?” Dygstra asked. She squatted in front of Norephine to better study her expression. “Those crime lords touch everything except your castle, apparently.”

Norephine shook her head, but didn’t look up from her diagram. “I didn’t know that.”

“Don’t you care?” Dygstra laughed in disbelief. “Those are your people, Painted Lady. They’re dying and you’re not helping them.”

Norephine’s mind raced. How could her father be in possession of energy cores so rare that Dygstra herself hadn’t even encountered them before? “I hate talking about politics,” she responded in monotone.

Dygstra laughed shortly, and Norephine looked up from her diagram with a scowl. After seeing the look on her face, Dygstra’s laughter only increased in volume.

Norephine continued to glare. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re in the wrong line of work to hate politics,  _ Princess _ .”

Norephine huffed impatiently and dropped the diagram into her lap. “Well, I didn’t get a choice. I’m lucky.”

“You sure are. Lucky enough to be able to help people.”

Norephine stopped scowling. This was what Ervane meant, what Kelisian told her about. Getting defensive helped no one. She fixed her tone and asked, “How do I help?”

“Now you’re asking the right questions,” Dygstra smirked. “Your sister mentioned a secret basement, right?”

“The lower decks,” Norephine nodded. 

Dygstra shrugged. “If your dad has a stockpile of energy cores that could power an engine like the one her friends built, you could eliminate the need for power across the planet. Those things are hard to come by and incredibly powerful.”

Norephine nodded thoughtfully and bit her lower lip. “I don’t think Nell would want to help me at all, but Neera would. Even if it means accepting how evil our father is, she’d want to know the truth.”

Dygstra nodded her head toward the castle. “Looks like you’ve got a plan.”

Norephine stood up. “I do. Thank you.”

She ran off before Dygstra even spoke again. Suddenly, the day seemed too scarce. She had too many ideas all at once, and too many places to be. She had twenty years of royalty to make up for.

It didn’t take much convincing to bring Neera to the lower decks. She didn’t say so, but Norephine could tell she sought proof of their father’s evil deeds. She understood completely, of course. It was quite a jump to make, adjusting the mental image of Agnamorus from an absent father to an evil spylord.

The doors to the lower decks were heavily fortified, but not locked. Behind the thick metal doors, huge spaces like iron ballrooms stretched out into the middle distance. Artificial sunlight lamps shone in from above. As far as Norephine knew, the lower decks were built solely to protect the royal family from any devastating attack. The longer Norephine looked out at the massive space, the more she realized that it was not a space for four people. 

Giant containers lined every wall, labeled with their contents. Most in Norephine’s immediate area contained food items. She approached the nearest one and opened the lid-- unlocked, like everything else. Inside was enough prepackaged, perma-dried meat to feed a small army.

She pulled out a meal pack that came with seasoning and a water pack. “How much is down here?” Norephine whispered in wonder.

Neera shook her head. “I’d estimate enough to buy us three more planets.” She inspected the container beside Norephine’s and recoiled. A spire of icy air swirled out after her. “This one’s got ice cream in it,” Neera giggled.

“There’s more,” Norephine murmured, walking to a different container. She rubbed the dust off the top of a box of yeast and laughed in disbelief at the date on the package. “It’s still good.”

Neera chuckled. “Father might be a bastard, but he sure did plan to take care of us.” She moved to a different container and pulled out a matte black case. It looked heavy.

“What’s in there?” Norephine asked, joining Neera in front of the new container. There were perhaps a hundred more black boxes where that one had come from.

Neera shook her head. She wasn’t intrigued by the container’s contents at all. “Haven’t the slightest,” she shrugged. She moved to the next box without a second glance at the black boxes.

Norephine fiddled with the mechanism keeping the case shut. It was a rotating gear she had to align with the notches on the outside of the case, but it came undone with a satisfying click. She pulled the lid free and smiled at its contents.

Inside the case lay a shimmering brick of violet light. Norephine didn’t know what an energy core looked like, but she imagined it would be similar to this. She’d confirm it with Nell later. Norephine looked down into the fully stocked container. If Dygstra was to be believed, its contents could power Corellia for years to come. 

Neera had already moved on. “Check this out,” she beckoned, removing a red paper box from the next container over.

Nori joined her and inspected her find. “What is that?” she whispered, wrinkling her nose. It had a strange smell lingering on the paper.

Neera read the label on the large container. “It’s… kineta crystal.” She looked up, her brow furrowed. “Whatever that is.”

She tossed the box over her shoulder without a care. It exploded in a shower of neon light the moment it struck the ground. Debris flew everywhere, and Nori and Neera both screamed in terror. They cowered on the floor, heads down. When the light show ended, Norephine lifted her head to inspect the damage. She’d pulled Neera beneath her when they’d hit the ground.

Where the box had landed, there was a dark mark of soot and ash. Nothing remained of the package. The distinct smell of oranges, with a twinge of burnt bitterness, filled the air.

“I guess that’s what kineta crystal is,” Norephine whispered.

Neera whined. “Nori, I think we should stop snooping behind Dad’s back.”

“What does that even mean?” Norephine countered. “He’s evil. I think ‘behind Dad’s back’ is exactly where we should snoop.”

Nyrane shook her head. She’d always been stubborn, and Norephine knew she wasn’t lucky enough to see that changed. “If he hadn’t bent the rules of the Force to save Nellie when we were kids, we’d be short one sister.”

Norephine, facing away from Neera, closed her eyes. She tried her best not to think about that. “I know, but evil people can still do good things.”

“Doesn’t that fundamentally contradict the idea that they’re evil, though?” Nyrane argued. 

“No,” Norephine maintained. “If he hadn’t saved her, he’d look like a neglectful father, and only we’re supposed to know that.”

Two giggles answered Norephine’s jab. The two older sisters looked up to find Nell at the door, inspecting her manicure. 

“I didn’t wanna be left out,” she said offhandedly. She looked up at her sisters, her hair contained in two tiny ponytails under her ears. “We were talking about the ship crash?”

Neera and Norephine looked at each other in silent surprise. There had been years where the mere mention of ship crashes would send Nellie running from the room. 

Neera looked to her younger sister. “Yes,” she said simply. 

Nell nodded thoughtfully. “I’m over it now. Had to study how ships crash to build one that wouldn’t,” she explained. 

Norephine couldn’t help the smile that bit at her lips. She was proud of her.

“That’s smart,” Neera nodded. 

Norephine pointed to the container full of the energy cores. “Those are what your ship runs on, right?”

Nell nodded, but seemed a bit irritated. Norephine ran damage control before she could instill any more resentment in her youngest sister.

“I’m glad Dad saved you, for the record,” she offered. Norephine leaned against a container-- not the one containing kineta crystals. She hoped she looked casual.

Nell shook her head dismissively. “I know you are, but he shouldn’t get all the credit. The girl piloting the ship saved my life. I’d be dead if Olympia hadn’t gotten me out of there before it blew up.”

Neera tilted her head. It was her telltale sign of confusion. “Olympia died on impact,” she corrected Nell. “It was really sad, because she was barely older than you. Dad carried you out of the ship.”

Nell laughed out loud at the very thought. “Dad? Carrying me? He can hardly walk on a good day.”

“Adrenaline is powerful,” Neera argued.

Nell shook her head insistently. She was almost as stubborn as Neera. Norephine braced herself for the fight to stretch well into the night. They bickered back and forth as Norephine wandered farther from the door.

“He would kill for us, of course he would run for you!”

“On the contrary, I’m pretty sure he tried to kill Nori, like, two nights ago.”

“That’s  _ different _ .”

Norephine uncovered stacks of preserved bread, as many drinks as she could imagine, and even medical supplies. There was far too much for the family who lived in the castle, let alone the two girls who spent every day inside it. They could live out all their remaining days down here. Guilt pooled in a place so deep in Norephine that she couldn’t root it out.

“He used his own life to heal you.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“Yes, it is--”

“No, it’s not,” Norephine interrupted at last.

The two younger sisters looked over, listening. 

Norephine sighed wearily. “For less powerful Force users, you take life from someone else to heal with, without using your own.” She thought of the morning, when Anakin let her swap injuries with him. “It’s easier when they’re in arm’s reach.”

Her blood ran cold. She stopped rifling through the container.

“See?” Nell crowed.

Neera scoffed. “Well, it’s not my fault. How would I know how the Force works?”

“Stop. Go back.” Norephine pointed at Nell. “What happened to Olympia?”

Nell looked a little confused, but followed directions for once. “She carried me out of the ship before it exploded. Not Dad.”

Neera opened her mouth to contradict her again, but Nori waved her off. She kept following her train of thought. “Where did she go next?”

“She left me on the cliff’s edge,” Nell said, then shivered. “She went to go get Dad.”

Norephine redirected her attention to Neera, who was watching her apprehensively. 

Neera swallowed hard. “Nori, what’s that face about?”

Norephine looked away from both her sisters. She gripped the edge of the container so tightly that her knuckles went white. “Force healing is easiest with a donor in arm’s reach. Whatever wounds you’re healing get reflected onto whoever you healed them with, and if they’re fatal, then the donor will die instead.”

She looked at Neera, whose eyes had glazed over. Norephine knew she was thinking the same thing as her sisters, but she wanted to say it out loud anyway. She let out an angry breath. “Nellie’s only alive--”

“Because Olympia is not,” Nyrane finished. Her voice was sunken with dread. She looked to Norephine, desperate for a bright side. “But that’s what any parent would do, isn’t it? He isn’t evil for saving her.”

Norephine shook her head. “Even if he wasn’t, Olympia should not be dead, and she is.” She scrolled through the other files and found exactly what she was looking for-- confirmation. She laid it out before Nyrane. “I can’t see the good in killing someone else’s daughter to save his own.”

“There is no good,” Nell agreed coolly. “If I was dying, I should have died. Not Olympia.”

Neera stepped away from the containers. “I want to leave. Can we get out of here?”

Norephine knew that persuading her to stay would only irritate her. “Yes. Let’s go.”

The lights shut off behind them as they exited the room. Force of habit led them up to their tower, all the way to Norephine’s bedroom. Once upon a time, it had been their playroom of choice, before Norephine flew off to be one of Padme’s ladies. Now, it reflected the tastes of a much-younger Nori. Shimmering fabrics draped over nearly every surface, reflecting the midday light across the pale pink walls. Most of the clothes in the closet no longer fit.

Nell found a place to sit at the window, where a hammock dangled across the alcove. Norephine fell onto her bed, which felt unfamiliar despite its presence throughout her early childhood. She felt far more at home on Naboo, or even Coruscant.

“I think I’ll contact the High Council for a meeting at lunchtime,” Nori mused. “I think having food before them might endear them to like me more.”

Nell hummed happily, finding a comfortable spot in her hammock. The sun glinted off her silvery-white hair like diamond. “Why are you so stuck on seeing the Council? They never listen to us. You know that.”

“Corellia’s gone to shit,” Norephine said casually. 

“There’s nothing wrong with Corellia, Norephine!” Neera snapped. She slammed the door to punctuate her sentence, and Norephine nearly jumped out of her skin. 

She sat up on her bed and pulled her knees to her chest. Her eyes grew wide as she met Neera’s glower. Even Nell had sat up and opened her eyes, staring in abject shock at their sister. Nori had never seen her so angry. 

Neera sighed in a weak attempt to control herself. “You’re always going in and out, you’re never here when it matters, and then you come back and all you see are problems,” she listed. Her voice trembled with the effort of keeping her volume low. “I know you say this is your home planet, but you haven’t really lived here since you were little. How  _ dare _ you act like you know it better than I do?”

Norephine’s face felt hot. She despised being shouted at, even if it was coming from her little sister. Neera’s face didn’t look like her own when it was twisted by anger. She looked like Agnamorus.

Norephine’s voice emerged vulnerable and weak. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

“That  _ is  _ what you’re doing,” Neera argued. She couldn’t stand still. She paced around to the side of Norephine’s bed, then returned to the door. “You have to make sure everyone knows you’re the most important, even though you never follow through. You want to meet with the High Council, but you don’t want to have ambassador dinners. You only want the fun parts of being a princess.”

Norephine gawked. “I do  _ not _ . That’s the entire reason I’m here.”

“If you knew what you were doing, you’d know Corellia doesn’t need you fixing it,” Neera maintained. She put her hands on her hips. “We are making more money now than we ever have in history.”

Norephine shook her head. Nyrane was oversimplifying the problem. “Where’s it all coming from?”

“The shipyards.”

“ _ Where _ in the shipyards?”

Nyrane’s brows knit together. Norephine knew that look, and she knew arguing would do nothing to relieve it. “You’re just trying to make me look like a bad ruler,” she muttered.

Norephine’s implant pinged and she checked it, eager for a distraction from Nyrane’s temper tantrum. It was a message from Dygstra.

“There’s a protest in the Copper Quarter,” Norephine read out loud. She looked up at her sisters, searching for their enthusiasm. “Maybe we can start there.”

Neera rolled her eyes. “Start what?”

Norephine went to the closet and dug to the back, searching for something specific. “We’ll start finding out what our hometown’s really like, behind our backs,” she explained. Nori took hold of a cloak on a hanger and removed it from the depths of her closet. It was gray and inconspicuous to the untrained eye. The bottom hem was embroidered with a pattern only known to the royal family, the same as what was on their baby blankets. Norephine slipped it on over her gown and gestured toward the stairwell. “You might need one too, if you don’t want the whole world to know who we are.”

Neera was still scowling, but she couldn’t resist her curiosity. “I’ll get my cloak,” she muttered, making for the door.

Norephine turned around to her second sister. “Are you joining us, Nell?”

Nell shook her head and closed her eyes. “I know full well that Corellia is a dump. I’m trying to escape, remember?”

“Why didn’t you tell Neera?” Norephine pressed. She studied her reflection, debating whether her appearance was still too eye-catching. Her gown wasn’t especially shimmery, nor was her cloak, but she wasn’t sure what people wore to protests. Probably not dresses.

Nell laughed shortly. “You saw how she reacted. She thinks an insult to Corella is an insult to her, and Neera’s the worst when she gets defensive.”

She was right. While the middle sister was gone, Norephine sent out an appointment request to the High Council for this afternoon. Neera reentered the bedroom, wearing a similar cloak to Norephine’s, and asked if she needed to bring snacks. Nell said yes. Norephine sighed and resigned herself to her appearance. At least, with her hair concealed, she wasn’t identifiable. 

Still, an hour later, on the street with Neera, she felt exposed.

“The princesses care nothing for us!”

A cheer answered the shouted claim from the protest’s apparent leader. 

“The false king drains our blood to grow his hoard!”

Another cheer rose up from the crowd in answer to the shouting man on the pedestal. He had writing on his shirt Norephine couldn’t quite make out. The sisters lingered slightly off to the side from the main masses, halfway in an alley. 

“Still think our planet adores us?” Norephine whispered, only loud enough for Neera to hear.

Neera shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this. The Council says--”

“The Council lies,” Norephine reminded her. “We’ve always known that. They’ll tell you anything to keep you complacent.”

“Our children starve while his feast!”

Neera blushed in embarrassment and turned her face away. Norephine no longer felt the need to do the same. Burying her head in the sand would only prove everyone right-- ignorance was no longer an option.

Norephine caught a glance of a man in a violet uniform across the street. He didn’t look twice at the princesses, but made a face as a protester bumped against him on her way to join the masses. He didn’t fit in, but he wasn’t the point. Norephine focused on the people leading the crowd.

A girl hardly older than Neera stood up next and made an impassioned plea for the palace to feed the children on the streets, because half the abducted kids wound up in the syndicates because they were the only place to find food. Norephine felt the guilt rise up in her chest and replaced it with hunger. She could do something. She was here to think of what, exactly, would do the most to help.

She listened. She watched. She held Nyrane’s hand under her cloak.

“The false king must fall,” the girl in the street commanded. “His puppet princesses must have their strings cut!”

Cheers rose up to meet her shouts. Nyrane brushed the dirt and dust off her cloak and clung to Norephine’s arm. “What do they mean, cut our strings?” she asked anxiously. “We’ve never done anything to them. Why would they cut our  _ anything _ ?”

“We’ve never done anything  _ for _ them, either, Neera,” Norephine whispered.

A sensation like a spider crawling up Norephine’s spine sent her senses into panic mode. She knew, clear as the day before them, that there was not a physical source to the dread building inside her. 

They needed to move. 

Norephine grabbed Nyrane by the back of her hood and yanked her behind a wall just before a laser bomb exploded around the corner. Sound ripped through the air and Nyrane’s scream echoed the noise. Chunks of concrete blew through the alleyway. A metal pole slashed through the air where Neera’s head was a heartbeat ago.

“Empty the street immediately,” a voice ordered through a speaker. Norephine could hardly hear it over the sound of her ears ringing. 

Neera whimpered and reached for Norephine to balance. “Nori--”

Norephine looked to her sister and saw the blood before anything else. She sucked in a breath that stank of scorched citrus. As she recovered from the initial shock, she observed the shard of metal that had become embedded in Nyrane’s soft inner forearm. It had pierced through her cloak and her gown’s sleeve. Blood spread through the rich gray material of the cloak with every beat of her heart.

She whimpered again, and Norephine was urged to action. Adrenaline flooded her synapses. She wrapped an arm under Nyrane’s and around her sister’s back, pulling her to her feet. Her mind whirled with rage and confusion. Who had set off that bomb? Whoever it was would pay dearly for hurting her sister, and anyone else injured in the blast. She should’ve brought her lightsaber with her.

“I’m dizzy,” Neera said numbly, and Norephine abandoned the thought of her saber. She would find whoever hurt Neera and punch their lights out with her own fists.

After crossing through the alleyway to the opposite street, Norephine realized she had thought of the same escape route as most of the other protesters. She followed after them, hoping they knew more about the city than she did.

This was her hometown, she remembered with a start. She shouldn’t feel so lost.

A woman in white burst onto the street and waved the crowd after her. No one hesitated. Norephine hoped she would lead them to safety. She half-guided, half-dragged Nyrane after the mysterious woman. They turned around a few more corners, swept along with the crowd of protesters, until the street sloped sharply down. A half dozen stairwells split the traffic flow into smaller groups, and Norephine followed after the man in front of her. The sudden darkness of the descending stairwell nearly caused Norephine to trip and take Neera down with her, but she steadied herself on the wall.

The stairs emptied into an underground room that reminded Norephine of a bar. The light was warm, the ceiling low. A symbol for the medic’s office shone up ahead, and Norephine pulled Neera through the masses to get there. 

Luckily, no one else was waiting yet. The two girls slipped into the small side room, barely larger than Norephine’s bed. An older woman with dark, curly hair in a wispy bun looked up at them attentively.

“My sister got hurt in the blast,” Norephine explained hurriedly. “Can you help her?”

The medic nodded. “Sit, girls. Show me the injury.”

Neera followed directions, offering the woman her arm. “Is it going to scar?” she asked anxiously. 

The medic laughed and did not answer, although Norephine was pretty sure Neera was not joking. The woman held up two fingers. “I’m going to check for concussion. Follow my fingers with your eyes,” she ordered.

Nyrane did. First with just her eyes, and then with her whole head. Left, right, down, up--

Neera’s hood slipped back, and her iridescent hair seemed to glow in the half-light. Norephine’s heart took a running leap into her mouth, and she scrambled to push it back up. It was too late-- the medic treating Neera had already seen her distinctive hair.

There was a breath of silence as both the princesses and the medic adjusted to the revelation. 

“Please don’t hurt us,” Neera pleaded quietly. She looked over her shoulder to assess how many people had seen her mistake, but no one outside seemed to care.

The medic exhaled a wry laugh. “You think  _ we’re _ going to hurt you? It’s your father who set off those bombs today.”

“What?” Neera demanded.

Norephine brightened. “Really?” She recalled the man in violet who didn’t belong. Maybe she should’ve followed her instinct to watch him, after all. “He must have men on the streets carrying out his orders remotely, because he’s off-world.”

The medic exhaled with a wry laugh. “That’s not surprising. His secret police have been sweeping away rebels for years. If we aren’t scooped up by a crime syndicate before eighteen, we’ll certainly find ourselves in your pretty silver dungeons.”

Neera looked at her lap in shame. “I’m sorry. On both counts-- for thinking you’d hurt us and for our father.”

Norephine felt a sharp pang of guilt. She knew that Neera would have to accept the harsh truth of Corellia eventually, and that was the entire point, but watching her lose hope stung. “We aren’t supposed to be here,” Norephine cut in. “We wanted to see the truth ourselves.”

The medic redirected her attention to Norephine. She looked her up and down. “You’re not the little one,” she observed.

It wasn’t the first time she’d been mixed up with Nell, but Norephine didn’t blame the medic for forgetting who she was. Nori hadn’t done much to deserve being remembered. “I’m Norephine, her older sister. I’m usually off-world, too.”

The medic blinked at her. There was no trace of respect or blind faith in her eyes, and Norephine realized that no one had ever looked at her like that. All her life, she’d been a princess. To this woman, she was nothing but a spoiled young lady.

“What do you two want?” she asked. She resumed treating Neera’s wound.

Nori and Neera exchanged a glance. Norephine looked back to the medic and said, “I’m here to listen.”

The medic didn’t stop working, but she paid Norephine a doubtful glance. “No one with a crown on their head comes in the name of peace,” she muttered. “You and your family have done your best to crush the life out of this planet and the people of it. You two are lucky you didn’t get scooped up by a syndicate the second you left that pretty palace of yours.”

Neera swallowed hard, and her cheeks paled the slightest bit. “I told you this was dangerous,” she hissed at Nori for the millionth time.

Norephine ignored her. “My family has made itself an enemy of this planet and its people. I don’t endeavor to change what you think of us,” she explained passionately. “I want to begin fixing the harm my father has done.”

“Good luck,” the medic scoffed. She didn’t even bother looking up from Neera’s arm. “Your father’s got the whole Council wrapped up in his riches. They won’t listen to you unless you’ve suddenly accrued more wealth than Daddy Dearest.”

“Or unless Daddy Dearest is indisposed,” Norephine countered. She couldn’t help but smile excitedly, planning her meeting with the Council tonight. “How do you think galactic treason will go over with them?”

That made the medic look up. “You sound like you’re trying to end up in your own dungeon.”

Norephine shrugged. “I dare them to try. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, too.”

“You’re your father’s daughter,” the medic chuckled.

Norephine felt her cheeks flame. “Please, don’t say that,” she muttered distastefully. She swallowed hard and straightened her spine. “I assume this place is a sanctuary for the protesters. Can I speak to the person in charge?”

The medic nodded. “You can try. Her name is Lora. She’s down the hall at the turnabout. Look in the rooms until you see a woman with red hair.”

“Thank you,” Norephine whispered. She looked to Neera, about to ask permission.

“Go,” Nyrane said with emphasis. She met her sister’s eyes, expression like none Norephine had ever seen her wear. “I survived the protest, I think I’ll survive a wound wash.”

Norephine didn’t argue with her. She exited the medic’s room and continued down the dim hallway to her left, heading for the center of what looked like an underground tunnel system. About a hundred feet ahead was the turnabout the medic mentioned, which seemed to indicate the system resembled a wheel. Norephine looked in each room she passed-- some food, a waning supply of medical equipment, a few emergency flares. In the fourth room Norephine inspected, a head of rose-red hair caught her eye. The woman who bore it was speaking in a cool, collected tone to a younger girl with a clipboard.

“Lora?” Norephine asked hesitantly.

The red-haired women turned around and gave Norephine a once-over. “Who are you?”

Norephine still hadn’t quite adjusted to being spoken to like that. She tried to keep the displeasure off her face and lifted her chin. “I am--”

Should she use her name? It would blow whatever cover she had left. Then again, the medic would certainly spread the word that two of the princesses had shown their faces today. Maybe there wasn’t much cover left to preserve.

“Does that sentence have an ending?” Lora prodded, lifting a brow. She was a striking woman, probably in her fifties, but possessing a certain fire in her dark eyes. She looked every inch a leader.

Norephine cleared her throat. “I’m Nori. I had some questions for you.”

“Dressed like that, I’m sure you do have questions,” Lora scoffed. She gave some instructions to the girl with the clipboard and walked out of the room, passing Norephine without a second glance. “Did you get lost on a castle errand, Princess?”

Norephine’s cheeks went hot. She hoped not everyone had an eye as scrutinizing as Lora’s, or the Council would definitely get wind of this before tonight. “I want to help you,” Nori explained, having to scurry to keep pace with Lora. She was taller than the rebel leader by a handful of inches, but Lora moved like she had places to be.

Lora only laughed at Norephine’s proposal. “Too little, too late, puppet princess,” she dismissed her. She led the way down a different hall of the underground wheel. Norephine hoped she wouldn’t get lost trying to find Nyrane again. 

“It’s not too late,” Norephine argued. “I need you to tell me how to do that.”

Lora still didn’t meet her eyes. She entered an office and rifled through some papers on a desk. “This is clearly your first protest. Where were you for the last twenty years?”

Norephine swallowed her anger. “I’m here  _ now _ ,” she pleaded. She hated the sound of her own voice, whining. “What can I do?”

“You’re too late,” Lora said, finally meeting her eyes again. “No upstart princess will save us now.” She breezed past Norephine on her way out the door.

As Norephine turned to continue following her, her gaze snagged on a photograph pinned to the dusty wall. It was Lora, perhaps ten years younger, with a toddler in her arms.

Norephine pointed at the little child. “Who’s that?”

Lora’s footsteps stopped. She didn’t need to look back to know who Norephine was asking about. “My son,” she said. “I took him in as an infant, raised him as my own. He was abducted by one of the syndicates last summer, while you suntanned in your courtyard.”

“You must miss him.”

“Losing a child hurts more than anything,” Lora agreed. She started to walk away again, but Norephine didn’t move. Her mind was starting to form a new plan.

“Which syndicate abducted him?” Norephine called after Lora.

Lora didn’t look back. “The Starweirds.”

Norephine did not follow Lora. Instead, she took off down a hallway she hoped was the one she’d entered from, searching for Nyrane. 

The moment her sister crossed her mind, a familiar head of golden-white hair caught Norephine’s eye. Nyrane was exiting the medic’s room, and she was smiling.

“Thank you again, Hellana,” Neera said gratefully.

The medic-- Hellana-- just smiled. “I’m glad to help, Princess. You didn’t need to put yourself in danger today, but you did. That takes courage.”

_ I have courage, too, _ Norephine thought bitterly. She reminded herself that today wasn’t about her and kept her mouth shut.

“We have to return home,” Norephine said to Neera. “I lost track of time. My meeting with the Council approaches.”

Neera’s brows drew together. “But you said--”

“Thank you, Hellana,” Norephine interrupted her. “I’m sorry for the violence my father has been causing.” She put a hand on her sister’s back and lifted her hood, making her move to leave.

Hellana’s smile evaporated at the mention of Agnamorus. “Oh, it’s not new. Still, that kineta is not to be messed with,” the medic muttered.

Norephine froze. She turned on her heel. “What did you say?”

Hellana looked up, then glanced around to make sure she was indeed being spoken to. “The bombs they loosed on us today. They’re powered by kineta crystal, an incredibly powerful explosive agent.”

The orange smell. Neera’s bleeding arm. Norephine felt her temper boiling over, and she knew she needed to leave. “Thank you,” she said quietly. 

Neera immediately looked to Norephine with apprehension in her hazel eyes. She knew her voice too well to mistake that tone.

“Be careful on your way home,” Hellana warned the sisters. “The syndicates will be out, prowling for any desperate injured people.”

The syndicates were a different issue entirely. “You’re right,” Norephine murmured. “We can’t risk being caught by the syndicates on our own out here.”

“No,” Hellana agreed.

Norephine set her jaw. “We’ll bring backup next time.”

Hellana didn’t seem entirely confident in Norephine’s plan, but she said nothing against it. She didn’t even say goodbye. The medic just tilted her head thoughtfully and said, “You might as well put that hood down. I think everyone knows you’re here.”

Nyrane did it first. She lowered the hood covering her golden-white locks without hesitation. When Norephine looked at her sister, Neera was smiling at Hellana. Something about her was different.

Neera had never been a risk-taker, so Norephine followed suit. She pushed the hood off her head and led the way out of the hall. Nyrane kept pace at her side. She said nothing in regards to the stares they accrued, iridescent hair shining. She did not point out the people on the street who scurried into the alleys as the princesses passed by.

Norephine’s mind was spinning in circles, occupied with thoughts of burning citrus and cherry-red hair and the Starweirds. She only managed a nod when Neera said she was going to the rose garden, and she did not move or speak or fidget while she waited in Dygstra’s ship.

“You need help a lot, Princess,” Dygstra grumbled. She was sweating, her brow shining with moisture. The heat of day blazed down on the shining city and made it hot as molten metal. Norephine herself was sweating after her walk from the bunker.

Norephine didn’t bother defending herself or bantering with the pilot. She sat very still in the pilot’s chair, arms crossed, expression taut. There was too much to think about already. The bleeding protesters. The underground tunnels. The fear, palpable. Norephine’s mind circled a drain. “This place needs help,” she whispered.

“Genius,” Dygstra mocked her. “There’s the princess we’ve been waiting for. No one will believe you’re so wise. I think our work here is done.”

The heat of the day and the stress of the morning pressed Norephine’s temper to its limit. “I’m coming to terms with the fact I’ve been lied to my whole life. Can you be kind to me for one minute?” she snapped.

Dygstra faked a pout. “That depends. Can you take your head out of your royal ass and do something about it?”

Norephine groaned and slumped into the chair. Her head hurt. She didn’t bother answering for long enough that Dygstra spoke again.

“Good leadership requires sacrifice, and I don’t think you get that. This is why everyone thinks you’re childish,” Dygstra singsonged.

Norephine lifted her head. “I don’t live to please you.”

“No, I don’t doubt that. But everybody knows you’re the easiest to manipulate if they want something you can only get upstairs.”

“ _ What? _ ”

Dygstra chuckled. “Don’t act like you don’t know. You’re the baby.”

Norephine got out of Dygstra’s chair, almost tripping over her skirt. She hated how the tulle felt in her hands. It felt like something a little girl would wear. She glared at Dygstra and crossed her arms. “You’re being mean.”

Dygstra’s expression morphed into a comically deep frown. “Oh, are you gonna cry about it?”

Norephine’s hands lifted to her cheeks, then carded up through her hair. It was tangled and streaked with concrete ash. She even smelled a hint of citrus. Her hands curled into fists full of cotton candy curls. “I am not going to cry,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

Her fists clenched tighter, and the landing gear of the ship tremored hard enough to make Dygstra stumble. Her back hit the cockpit wall, but she didn’t fall down. Her eyes went wide.

Norephine, chin lowered, looked up through her eyelashes. She felt the anger stewing like a sour flame in her chest. “I am not a baby.”

Dygstra no longer looked high and mighty, but she wasn’t as scared as Norephine would’ve liked. She stood upright. “You‘re a weird kind of princess,” she snickered.

Norephine wanted to prove herself to Dygstra, but something kept her from shaking the ship again. Something urged her not to waste her time. Maybe it was that elusive self-control she always struggled with.

Whatever the cause, Norephine said nothing else. She had a meeting to get to. 

She left Dygstra’s ship with the intent of going to the meeting. A few of the council members had probably already arrived. And yet, as she walked up the moonstone stairs that passed her bedroom, the light swishing of her skirts began to scratch at her senses. She paused outside her bedroom door and considered her options.

At the very thought of one of the gowns she’d converted weeks ago, the only one she’d bothered packing in her bag, Norephine rotated on her heel and made a pit stop in her bedroom. After slipping into a dress more suited for warfare, she continued to lunch, but not before slipping her lightsaber into her pocket. Its weight gave her an extra dose of confidence.

When she walked into the meeting room, more than one of the council members stared. She didn’t blame them. A gown like the one she’d just abandoned was more typical of a Corellian princess than the ensemble she’d clothed herself in now.

Satin as violet as a winter’s dusk enrobed Norephine’s body. What remained of her skirt swished easily at her heels, but opened generously to expose her legs. Pants as tight as her training clothes covered her to the ankle, the fabric comfortable and snug. The bodice of the gown stopped well below her collar, the sleeves beginning an inch or so off her shoulders. It was a hybrid of a gown and a jumpsuit, and Norephine thought it was the best choice to wear to change the planet.

“Thank you for joining me,” Norephine said graciously. She offered a polite smile to the councilpeople on her left. “I’m glad to have your attention today.”

The man opposite the table from her was not fazed by her pleasantries. He was one of her father’s closer friends-- Councilman Pryde. “What do you need us for, Princess?” he asked, bored. While the other council members ate their lunches, he wasn’t touching his.

Norephine tried not to be offended. She cleared her throat and got to the point. “I come before you today with the intention of transferring executive power from my father, Agnamorus Leela, to me.”

Someone choked on their lunch.

Pryde scoffed. “I apologize, Princess, but I think you might want to review our ruling documents. We do not transfer power by mere request.”

“I’m aware of the procedures outlined by the ruling documents,” Norephine said in a measured tone. She could not sound emotional, or they’d dismiss her before she ever reached her point. “Power is transferred only in cases of death, physical inability to rule, or conviction of a crime classified as extreme by the court you yourselves sit upon.”

“If your father is dead, this would be a quite insensitive way to deliver the news,” a different councilman chuckled. 

A few other members joined the murmur of humor, but Norephine did not waver. “My father is not dead. He is, however, guilty of murder and attempted filicide.”

No one was laughing now. 

Norephine didn’t hesitate. “I bring before the court individual recordings, both audio and visual, of the night my father brought me here with the intention of killing me. In his own words--” Norephine nodded at one of the sentries, who cued a clip to play in the hologram projector. 

A blue-illuminated Agnamorus sneered in a hologram Norephine’s face. “You won’t hurt at all, Phine,” he assured her. His smile was cruel. “I’ll make sure your death is painless. I’ve practiced plenty, of course--”

He stroked Norephine’s hair in the projection, and the real Norephine couldn’t resist shivering.

“So I’d get it right with you. Death isn’t so bad, and just think: you’ll be keeping your loving father alive for another sixty years, at the very least.” The hologram Agnamorus was delighted with his own plan, although the Norephine he spoke to didn’t react at all. She was unmoving, unconscious.

The image clicked away. Norephine knew she’d have to watch it eventually, but she’d even resisted touching the storage drive. She knew its contents would make her feel like this-- like she wasn’t in her body.

The Council was watching her.

Norephine straightened. Her tone was just as regal as she hoped it would be. “I assume this is proof enough of your King’s crimes, as it is a sufficient admission of guilt in any of Corellia’s high courts. Recognizing the inadequacy of Agnamorus Leela, I hereby strip him of his noble title and privileges,” Norephine finally said.

Murmurs flowed through the room. One councilperson summoned the courage to speak up.

“Princess,” the councilperson said, their eyes wide with false respect. “I don’t mean to sound doubtful of your wisdom, but--”

“Then don’t,” Norephine interrupted sharply. She refocused her attention on the paper before her. “This is my will, as your Princess. Any contradiction or invalidation to this decree will be taken as insubordination.”

“Technically, Princess,” a different councilperson said, “ _ you _ are guilty of insubordination just by calling the King’s honor into question. Why should we submit to your rule instead of obeying his?” The councilperson’s expression was smug, as if proud to have manufactured a thought Norephine hadn’t yet.

Norephine did not allow him to pierce her confidence. “True, I am guilty of insubordination,” she admitted coolly, then paused. No one dared speak over her silence. She almost smiled, but hid the delight as she continued. “Unfortunately, my family no longer has the luxury of boasting that as our worst offense. It is up to the Council which of us it paced more faith in. Either Corellia finds itself led by a Princess guilty of insubordination, or a King guilty of murder.”

“Corellia cannot be led by a princess,” Pryde interrupted. He smiled, very pleased with himself. “Only Queens, Kings, and the Council may act as Corellia’s executive power. You,  _ Princess  _ Norephine, don’t have the right to wield the King’s power.”

A few other councilpeople nodded, realizing that Pryde was right. Norephine wondered if they all thought she was stupid.

“I mentioned that I read our ruling documents,” she said evenly. “The Council may act in a King’s absence only if there are no surviving Princes or Princesses of ruling age. I do believe that the three Princesses are all alive, are we not?”

A sentry nodded eagerly, and Norephine almost smiled.

“Alive,” she continued, “and aged twenty, nineteen, and seventeen. My father’s decree that kept us from commanding the Council only stands true while we wield the title of Princess, and I do not intend to from this day forward.”

Pryde must have realized where Norephine was going with her train of thought, because he shook his head before she was done speaking. “You can’t do this--”

“I nominate myself, the eldest child of the last King of Corellia, as the sole heiress to the throne,” Norephine said with confidence. “Should anyone wish to contest my play for this role, they shall present their evidence now.”

No one moved. Pryde didn’t even speak, just curled his great, meaty hand into a fist. 

Norephine’s lip curled upward. “Excellent,” she smirked. “I present myself as your new Queen, and I have decrees to ratify. To begin, the secret police will be no more, and I will know of their activity should you contradict my orders.”

A councilman to Norephine’s right laughed, but she could sense the contrivance a mile away. It smelt of guilt. “What secret police?” he crowed. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Do not condescend to think I don’t know of your attacks on your own subjects,” Norephine snapped. Her cheeks heated with rage. “I witnessed one captain of the castle guard approving a bombing at the protest in the Copper Quarter this very morning. My eyes do not lie. I know that there are layers to your corruption, and I intend to sift through each and every one.”

Councilman Pryde struck the table loud enough to startle his neighbor. “You should watch your step, little princess.”

“You should watch your tone, and it’s Queen,” Norephine snapped. “With or without you, I will help the people of this planet. As its queen, I am obligated to eliminate any obstacles that stand in my way.”

“Are you threatening us?”

“This is a method to scare us into submission.”

Norephine leveled both councilpeople with a stare of ice. “How does it feel to be on this side of the fear tactic?” 

Murmurs rose up from around Norephine. She sensed the anxiety and the anger, and she knew not to let the flames catch. 

She stood from her throne and leaned forward on the table. “Listen well to me, Councilpeople, and contain your displeasure. I am Queen Norephine of Corellia, and I am your commander-in-chief. Your fealty to my father is gone, and now you are here based on your fealty to me. If you have none, then you will similarly have no seat at this table.”

The councilman who’d contradicted her earlier. The one who laughed about the secret police, stood up and made for the door. Councilman Pryde went after him.

Norephine did not falter. “You are free to leave, if so, but you forfeit the privilege that allows you to sit on this court.”

Pryde scoffed and did not look back. “I do not consider being lectured by a puppet princess to be a privilege.”

Norephine nodded at the guards by the door, and four of them swooped forward. Each took the councilmen by an arm, preventing him from walking any further.

“What--” the laughing one stammered. “I demand to be released!”

Norephine took a deep breath to level her voice. “Councilman Pryde, you are being detained on the grounds of high treason, embezzlement, and money laundering. Councilman Friese, your charge is the same. You will be tried before a court of your constituents and, until that date, you are relieved of your title.”

“You can’t!” Pryde argued. “This is ridiculous!”

The other council members said nothing and watched Norephine warily. She waved at the guards to remove the councilmen from the meeting room.

Once they were gone, and the room quiet again, Norephine looked upon the remaining councilpeople. She refused to allow any trace of doubt to creep onto her face. “Would anyone else like to exit now, instead of falling under my rule?”

No one said a word. The councilpeople exchanged shocked looks with one another, then returned their gazes to Norephine. They fell in line. Norephine felt a thrill as she realized she had won her first battle of many. 

She did not take her seat quite yet. “Let these words spread as far and wide from this room as they may. On this day, the Could’ve-Been King falls.”

The room’s silence lasted only a moment. A councilwoman across the table from Norephine whispered, “Good health to our Queen.”

“Good health to the Queen,” everyone else echoed, in voices reflecting both unease and awe. Norephine caught a smile on the face of a young councilperson who she vaguely remembered her father trying to fire.

“As the acting superior of this planet,” Norephine said, the words unfamiliar on her tongue, “I nominate Princess Nyrane Leela as my successor, should galactic needs demand my departure.”

A councilman opened his mouth to protest, but Norephine lifted a hand to silence him. He obeyed.

Norephine continued. “Any concerns regarding Princess Nyrane’s ability to diligently and effectively lead will be heard at a later date, once the immediate threat of Agnamorus Leela has passed.”

One of the younger councilwomen spoke up. “You classify your own father as a threat?” her voice was not judgmental, but curious.

“I have witnessed his treason against the Republic myself,” Norephine explained. “He feeds information to its enemies and acts as a Sith spy, despite his lack of Force training.”

The room descended into murmurs, but they were no longer biting. Everyone simply sounded afraid.

“This is why I returned to clear this government of his influence,” Norephine explained logically. “I refuse to allow us to be complicit in his crimes.”

A different councilwoman cleared her throat and politely asked, “And what of Princess Nelameena?”

What of her, indeed. Norephine bit her lip in thought. Only a few nights ago, Nelameena had been so desperate to escape Corellia that she’d been willing to pack a bag and make a break for it on a homemade ship. What kind of sister would Norephine be to stop her? Then again, what kind of sister would allow Nelameena to run blindly into the galaxy without an inkling of the danger that awaited her?

Good leadership requires sacrifice, she reminded herself. One day, Nell might forgive her.

Norephine felt the vise grip around her throat again and struggled to swallow. “Princess Nelameena will be Nyrane’s successor, should she be needed. As such, she will be forbidden to leave the planet unless both Nyrane and myself allow it.”

The Council nodded their approval of the plan, so Norephine moved on.

“I intend to disincorporate the syndicates that run our planet’s streets, starting with the Starweirds,” she proposed.

A man to her right hemmed and hawed. “Does this have something to do with your presence at a riot in the Copper Quarter this morning?”

Norephine rolled her eyes and did not deign that with a response. Multiple hands had gone up after her proposition, and one young councilperson outwardly protested, “Prin-- Queen Norephine, I’m not sure you understand those stakes.”

Norephine didn’t allow herself to be disheartened. “Fear of high stakes is what allowed them to burrow so deep into our foundation,” she reminded her peers. 

“I have a daughter,” one of the councilmen said.

“And I, a sister.”

“And I, a son.”

Norephine’s blood chilled. She’d assumed the taking of loved ones was exclusive to the Corellians who had no connection to the royal family, but it only made sense for higher-ups to be affected as well. That way they could--

Norephine’s gaze shot to the youngest councilwoman, who was already awaiting her. She nodded once at a bored-looking man on Norephine’s right, another of her father’s hires. He wasn’t watching her.

For once, Norephine didn’t react immediately. She simply took a deep breath. “That is a matter for a different time. I appreciate your compliance and wish you a good day.”

Norephine turned on her heel and exited the room, the door opened for her by the sentries. She wondered if they, too, had family in the syndicates, or if they were allies to them.

She didn’t get a lot of time to think about it.

“Nice threads.”

Norephine looked up and her heart sank. 

Dygstra was perched on a silver bench across the hall, one leg propped up on the seat. Agnamorus would have had a fit. When Norephine didn’t immediately respond to her, Dygstra pressed on. “Is that a lightsaber in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

“It’s a lightsaber,” Norephine grumbled. She walked onward, already planning her route. She wasn’t stupid enough to think the syndicate leaders wouldn’t see her coming, least of all the Starweirds, who she’d mentioned by name. Coronet City had ears everywhere.

“Where you headed, Princess?”

Dygstra was following her.

“Queen,” Norephine whispered.

“What?”

“I’m the Queen,” Norephine said again, louder.

Dygstra let out a low whistle of mock amazement. Her tone was dismissive. “Oh, how revolutionary. What’s your first decree? Legalizing daddy issues?”

Norephine didn’t respond to her. She thought more of the Starweirds and of Lora’s son. What had tamed the Council was immunity-- maybe the same move would work once again.

“No, it was probably outlawing protests, wasn’t it? Keeping the angry people off the street is basically the same as making everyone happy. May your reign be--”

“Wicked stars, Dygstra, do you  _ ever  _ stop talking?” Norephine snapped. She turned on her heel to face the pilot so fast that she almost ran into her. 

Dygstra was mere inches away, and stunned into silence for the first time all day.

Norephine decided it was her turn to ramble. “You think I’m worthless when I’m not trying to save the world, and you think I’m naive when I do. There is nothing I will ever do that can please you, is there?”

Dygstra shook her head. She directed her russet eyes to the vaulted ceiling, bored of Norephine. “Maybe you’re not trying hard enough.”

“I’m not trying at all,” Norephine insisted, her tone sharp and merciless. She leaned forward, refusing to let Dygstra ignore her any longer. “I am not doing any of this for you. This is not about you.”

That got her attention. She went far beyond Norephine’s volume. “Of course this is about me, Norephine!” she shouted back, her eyes locked on Nori’s. They sparkled with anger. “I grew up here! My Corellia was the one you and your sister barely survived for an hour, and you have the gall to think you shouldn’t try to live up to my standards? You’re  _ my _ queen!”

“And I was as much a child as you were when my father left you out there to die!” Norephine argued. Her voice echoed down the hallway. “Your childhood was terrible, but it is not my responsibility.”

Dygstra laughed, but there was no trace of humor in her face. She took a step back from Norephine and circled, studying her head to toe. “Oh, that’s how a queen talks. I never heard one in person, since your mommy ran away.”

Rage flamed hot and white in Norephine’s cheeks. “Don’t you dare speak of my mother,” Norephine snarled, taking a few steps in Dygstra’s direction. 

Dygstra held her ground, coming at Norephine until they couldn’t get closer without touching. Norephine thought she might strike her if she did.

“We both lost mothers to Corellia’s cruelty,” Dygstra hissed. Her breath tickled Norephine’s face, smelling of spices. She must have eaten lunch on the south end of the city. “Dear old Daddy’s secret taskforce blew mine up while she was trying to save a child’s life. Our mothers are dead. Your loss is no more important than mine because it was royal.”

“I never said it was.”

“You didn’t need to.”

“Stop interrupting me,” Norephine commanded, her voice increasing in volume. She lowered her tone once again. Dygstra was so close she could’ve whispered and been heard just as well. “I was going to say earlier that your childhood is not my responsibility, but your future is. Berating me for the sins of my father will not heal the evils he inflicted upon us both.”

Dygstra was either broken or didn’t know what to say. She fell quiet again, but didn’t recede from Norephine’s personal space. 

Norephine’s gaze dropped down her face, studying her. She was barely an inch taller than her, and her mouth was just about at the same level as Norephine’s nose. When she looked up to meet her eyes again, Norephine caught Dygstra’s gaze wandering as well.

“You’re blushing,” Dygstra observed offhandedly.

Norephine stepped away from her and raised a hand to her cheek. “That happens when I fight with people,” she excused herself weakly.

Dygstra looked down the hall, finally breaking eye contact. She crammed her hands in the pockets of her jumpsuit and cleared her throat. “Where are you going now?”

“The Starweird club,” Norephine said. “I can’t fix everything from inside a meeting room, and I think this might take a little negotiation with Rylah herself. I’ll drag her before a jury if it’s the last thing I do.”

Dygstra chuckled. Her tone was once again condescending, but Norephine no longer felt the sting of her words as a personal attack. She was angry for the same reason as Norephine. Dygstra continued her circle around Norephine. “What will you do, write another life-saving proclamation? Please. She’ll have you killed before you get the chance. Her power stretches far further than yours.”

“Let her kill me,” Norephine dismissed her. “That’ll make a point.”

“You’re putting yourself in the crosshairs,” Dygstra laughed. “Won’t be much help to anyone if you’re dead.”

Norephine gritted her teeth and whirled on the pilot. “Of course I will! A dead queen can’t write proclamations, but she can certainly scare her company into action, can’t she?”

Dygstra stopped laughing. She studied Norephine’s flushed cheeks, mussed hair, wild eyes. When she spoke, she was thoughtful. “What did your father do to you?”

Norephine swallowed hard. There were a thousand right answers, but she only said, “Nothing that matters.” She turned back to her desk. “I still have the chance to make something right. If it’s the only thing I ever do as the heiress to Corellia, so be it. I can deal with some higher stakes. At least I won’t die a Painted Lady.”

Dygstra chuckled. “High stakes is an understatement. You wanna tussle with the Starweirds, you’ll need to bring out your biggest guns.”

Norephine reached for her lightsaber, but Dygstra waved her off. “No, not that.” She bit her lower lip and looked Norephine up and down. Norephine resisted the urge to turn away, but she felt a blush creeping up her cheeks again.

“I’m not the best with fashion advice,” Dygstra mused, “but I think you might need some accessories.”

*

Norephine held her head high. The crown felt heavier than she thought it would, and Hellana’s words rang in her mind:  _ No one wearing a crown comes in the name of peace. _

She had worn it for that reason exactly.

Her guards opened the doors for her and bid her entrance into the sweaty gambling room. A wall of odor hit her, and it took all her willpower not to grimace. When the people within looked upon her, their eyes went from her face to her crown. Dygstra had been right-- wearing it was a power move of its own, no matter how symbolic.

Norephine brought a war with her.

Her implant was warm in her palm. Messages still passed through it, despite her delegation to her sisters. They were working with the Council to cut individual deals with the watchlist so graciously provided to them by their father. 

Norephine did not stop her walk to the leader’s table. She had been here plenty as a child.

Rylah Kelscull beamed the moment she saw Norephine. In a sea of sepia-toned, sweat-stained cronies, she wore an elegant cape over her shoulders and her hair in a well-kept bun. She stood from her table and extended her arms to Norephine, inviting a hug. Norephine allowed herself to be embraced.

“Oh, I missed you!” Rylah simpered. Her perfume was suffocating. “I heard you were coming to visit us today, and I was excited all afternoon.”

Norephine, still held in Rylah’s arms, felt the weight of the crown like a reminder. She was here for a reason. “I come to negotiate new terms of your existence,” she said. 

Rylah released her and held her by her shoulders at arm’s length. Norephine refused to shiver under the stare of the syndicate leader. Her ice-blue eyes contained an unfazed emptiness that unsettled Nori, but she kept talking. “In the wake of my father’s deposition, I am your new liaison. As such, I have new requirements of you.”

Rylah scoffed and did not move. “I changed you as a baby, darling Norephine. You don’t scare me, and I will not be negotiating with you. Your father’s contracts remain valid.”

“Save for those which I specifically invalidated an hour ago,” Norephine chirped. She offered the leader a saccharine smile. “I’m glad you and I have such a long history. It should make our negotiation so much more smooth.”

Rylah was no longer smiling. “Have you any idea what you’re doing?” she hissed, glaring daggers at Norephine. “This planet is held together by businesses like mine. You’ll cut off your nose to spite your face.”

“Then let us fall apart,” Norephine argued. “I refuse to allow this parasitic relationship to go on a single day more. We survive a healthy planet or none at all. The first tenet of your new deal is that there will be no more trafficking whatsoever.”

Rylah’s smile returned, but there was deception twinkling on her teeth. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

“Do us both a favor and stop lying to me,” Norephine said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She sat down in Rylah’s seat at the card table under the window. “Do sit down. We have business to go over.”

Rylah hesitantly took the seat across from Norephine. “You don’t scare me, little Princess.”

“I’ve heard that a lot today, shortly before deconstructing everything my father once held dear.” Norephine beamed, bright as starlight. “I’m starting to take it as a compliment. Oh, and I’m your Queen, by the way. I was promoted.”

Rylah sneered. “My business is good. You can’t bring me to court.”

“I have your information exchanges with my father, currently being reviewed by the High Council.” Norephine tilted her head and batted her eyes innocently. “Do you think they’ll find anything interesting?”

“But there are no witnesses,” Rylah reminded Norephine. Her voice was too confident for a woman about to go down for organized crime. “You won’t find one person in this city who can pin anything on me.”

“Oh, that might’ve been true an hour ago,” Norephine nodded. “But my sisters have been raring for diplomatic action since they could walk. They’re up in our castle as we speak, organizing deals to trade for testimony against you and your friends.”

“I do not work with traitors,” Rylah whispered. Her expression was cold as ice. Norephine understood why Agnamorus liked her so much.

“Your cronies would not betray you because they were afraid of you,” Norephine agreed. “And yet, you underestimate the power of your own fear-mongering. There’s only one thing they desire, and it’s safety. That can be acquired one of two ways.”

“They listen to my every word,” Rylah hissed. She was rattled, and it showed in her eyes. Just a little too wide, as they gazed upon Norephine.

The newly anointed Queen straightened her spine, and then her sparkling crown. “Or they’re guaranteed escape from this planet, to safety. Guaranteed diplomatic immunity, given they testify against you before my handpicked jury.”

“That’s biased,” the leader argued. “If you select your own jury, they’ll condemn us! They don’t understand what’s at risk!”

Norephine feigned a sympathetic pout that would have made Dygstra proud. “I find it fascinating that you have such a clear understanding of the concept. You had no problem paying my father to line the courtroom with your own henchmen every time you found yourself on the wrong side of the law. My jury is composed of people you know, as well, so don’t fret. Their family members are the ones doing your dirty work behind the facade of this club.”

There was a deep silence. Rylah did not speak. No one else in the bar dared to move or breathe. Norephine suspected Rylah was starting to understand the depth of her situation. 

“See, my friend,” Nori crooned, leaning toward the other woman. “Your rule ended with my father’s. The age of fear is over.” She stood from the table and felt her saber fall with a satisfying weight against her right thigh. Her implant pinged, and Norephine related its message to Rylah with a smile. “One of your advisors is trading your secrets for safety as we speak. I expect your own appointment to confess within the next day, or I’ll see you at the trial.” 

Norephine began to leave the bar, eager for fresh air, but she paused. There was another reason she’d started with the Starweird club. 

She turned back to Rylah. “Dunstin Kree. Retrieve him.”

Rylah’s brow wrinkled. She clearly wasn’t over the rest of Norephine’s revelation. “What?!”

“I was not asking your permission,” Norephine chirped. “I want you to bring me Dunstin Kree, son of Lora Kree. Now.”

For a moment, no one moved. Norephine knew that everyone around her awaited a signal that could only come from Rylah herself, and that signal would be the end of an era.

Rylah nodded.

Two men departed through a back door. Norephine’s smile grew as she looked out the window and glimpsed late afternoon sunlight shining on the buildings outside. The day was not even up, and she would restore a family.

“You’ll pay for this,” Rylah whispered. Vitriol dripped from her words. “Your father may not be the reigning king, but you’d do well to stay in line. He doesn’t need a throne to preside over you.”

“No one presides over me,” Norephine countered easily.

Rylah chuckled darkly, stepping out from behind her card table. She took a step toward Norephine and shook her head like she was talking to a child. “Have your fun, Phine,” she spat. “Your own justice will return to you twice over. That’s a promise.”

Norephine didn’t get a chance to respond before a small figure emerged from the back hallway, accompanied by the men who had left a moment ago. Norephine smiled at the boy and squatted to his height. “Dunstin?”

All it took was the mention of his name to make the child grin. The little boy dove into Norephine’s arms and hugged her. She returned the embrace, trying not to think for too long about how bony his body was. 

When he pulled away, he smiled. His cheeks were gaunt and hollowed-out. “Are you going to take me home?” he asked. 

“Yes,” Norephine said, returning the child’s grin. She pinched his cheek, which should have been far chubbier than it was. “Lora misses you a lot.”

Dunstin leapt into Norephine’s arms, and she stood up with him on her hip. She refocused on Rylah. “Royal guards will be back for the others,” Norephine informed her. “They are on their way now with a list of those reported missing, and those who went unreported. I’ve started making my own common friends.”

Rylah waved her off without another word. Norephine tried not to think about her promise of justice coming back to her. What was justice to a criminal, anyway? She decided not to fret about it.

When Norephine emerged back onto the sunlit street, Dunstin in her arms, she felt like the air tasted different. Fresher. Of course, there was more work to be done, but she’d pulled at a loose string. Perhaps the rest would unravel easier.

Dygstra’s stare was not discreet.

“What?” Norephine asked coldly, turning her eyes on the pilot. “Do you have a critique?”

Dygstra smirked, completely unfazed by Norephine’s best glare. “On the contrary, Princess, I was going to apologize. You’re no Painted Lady after all.”

Norephine met Dygstra’s eyes. There was no malice there. For the first time since meeting her, Norephine realized that she was very pretty, indeed. It didn’t matter if she was smiling.

“There’s no going back to sleep now,” Dygstra said calmly.

Norephine let out a soft breath. “That’s okay. Dreaming can’t do all the work for me.”

“I want to go to sleep,” Dunstin piped up. “Does Mom still have my bed ready?”

Norephine walked all the way to the Copper Quarter, retracing her steps from that morning. Even as she entertained Dunstin’s questions, she couldn’t help thinking about how inactive she’d been all her life. In one day, she’d done so much. The planet she walked upon would be unrecognizable if only she’d come alive a year earlier, or even a month.

“You all right?” Dygstra asked as the trio went down the stairs to the bunker.

Dunstin wiggled so much that Norephine put him down, and he started to lead the way. She didn’t let him out of her sight, all the same. “Yes,” she said, avoiding Dygstra’s scrutinizing stare. “I helped someone.”

“A couple someones,” Dygstra agreed fervently.

Norephine didn’t know what to say, but she didn’t need to say a word. Lora stepped out of Hellana’s office and Dunstin squealed, “Mommy!”

Lora saw him and her face lit up with joy. She nearly wept as she embraced her son, and Norephine hung back to watch the reunion. She debated leaving before Lora even noticed her, but the red-haired woman met her eyes before Norephine could move a muscle.

“You did this?” she confirmed, looking up at Norephine over Dunstin’s shoulder.

Norephine looked at her shoes and nodded once. She didn’t know why she felt more shy in front of Lora than she did before Rylah. One of them ran an organized crime ring, and the other was a volunteer and protest leader. 

“She’s bringing everyone home,” Dygstra said for Norephine. “She wanted to escort Dunstin herself, though. Made a show out of it.”

Norephine elbowed her pilot and finally lifted her head. The crown still weighted it down, and she reached up and removed it. She wanted to bring peace with her now. The gems cut into the soft skin of her palm as she held it by her side. “I wanted to show you that I’m serious about turning us around,” she explained. “I would be honored if you would work with me and my refined High Council to devise the best plan for healing Coronet City, and Corellia as a whole.”

Lora released Dunstin, but continued to hold his hand as she stood up. She looked between the two women thoughtfully. “You defied your father to get that crown of yours,” she observed.

Norephine looked down at it. The trinket wasn’t much, when she thought about it. Just a ring of iron like any other, but glittering. It was nothing but an act of war when broken down to the basics. She lifted her gaze to Lora again. “I would defy him a thousand times to repair the damage he’s done to this planet and its people.”

Lora smirked. “It’s a shame you spend all your time off-world. You’d make one hell of a queen.”

“My sister will do even better,” Norephine assured her. “She’s especially taken with the wisdom of your medic, Hellana. Nyrane wants to appoint her to an advisory position as well, if Hellana would be interested.”

Lora nodded thoughtfully, Dunstin still clinging to her leg. “Tell your sister she’s welcome here whenever she’s ready to discuss a contract,” Lora decided. “And you, Norephine-- if you find yourself in your hometown again soon, you have a home here.”

Norephine couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on her lips. She suddenly hoped she’d find herself in Coronet City again soon. “Thank you.”

Dygstra did not tease Norephine on the short walk back to the castle. She excused herself to ready the ship for takeoff, allowing Norephine to go up the palace steps on her own. The doors were pulled open for her, and lavish bows given. None of it meant a thing compared to returning Dunstin home.

Norephine stopped walking in the doorway. Her mind was not eased quite yet. There was something else. There was so much more to do.

“Empty the underground hangars,” Norephine said to the sour-looking soldier before her.

Once he realized she was addressing him, he stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re--”

“Yes, you do,” she interrupted. She didn’t bother looking at him. His uniform, all too well-ironed, only reminded her of how false her world was. Now that she’d seen it, she couldn’t turn back. There was no going back to sleep.

He seemed to know that, too. He stopped protesting and nodded. “Yes, my Queen.”

“Take your legion with you, enough to distribute the hoard throughout Coronet City,” Norephine continued. She ignored his obvious reaction of shock and horror. “Bring me back proof that you’ve done as I ask. I want to be certain that every hungry child in the capital city has a full stomach tonight, and everyone else the means to acquire one.”

“Norephine--” the soldier started.

“You may not call me by name,” she snapped. Her anger should’ve been unjustified, but she knew it was not. Some part of her had reacted to him the moment he walked in, and not in a pleasant way. She tilted her head curiously. “I recognize your face from that night. You’re one of my father’s hires, aren’t you?”

He did not answer, but he didn’t need to. Norephine already had a plan.

“I expect that you’ll carry today’s many events back to him, so I only request that you make sure to mention this as well,” she said smoothly. 

Norephine stepped down from the stairs so she could look the soldier in the eyes. “Tell Agnamorus that I am not finished taking him apart,” she said coldly. Her heart raced with each syllable. “Tell him that I will bring him a war like none other he’s ever seen, and he will know it when this is the one he does not survive.”

Norephine had hardly entered the building when stomping footsteps drew her attention to the stairwell. Nell was tromping down without a shred of grace, Nyrane hot on her heels.

“You forbade me to leave?” Nell demanded. Her voice was high and loud with hysteria, and her eyes as wild as Nyrane’s at brunch. “You said you would try to help me, and instead, you trapped me here!”

Norephine grit her teeth. “I had to make sacrifices, Nell,” she explained weakly.

“I didn’t know I was up for sacrifice, as your sister,” Nell snapped. Her eyes glistened with tears, and Norephine knew she never cried in front of people. “You’re never kind to me. Never. And I’ll keep that in mind next time you need my help.”

Nelameena whirled on her heel and stormed off like she expected someone to come after her. Her steely silver curls bounced angrily with each step she took.

Norephine wondered if that’s what she herself looked like, leaving training with Anakin this morning, before he’d knocked her flat on her back. A tantruming child.

“You didn’t have to trap her here,” Nyrane said gently. “Just because you’re angry with her doesn’t mean she deserves to be caged like an animal.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Norephine said. She shook her head and looked to the floor, knowing full well that the damage had been done. “I couldn’t let the Council have such a straight shot for the throne. It has to stay with us, and you know that. Nell just doesn’t have the wisdom that we do.”

Nyrane sighed. “She’s our sister, Norephine. One day, we’ll have to choose which we value more: sisterly kindness or royal power. I think you know kindness is where your heart lies.”

Norephine looked to her sister. Nyrane was still gazing after Nelameena. She was less than a year Norephine’s junior, but she still looked so young, hopeful, and innocent. Her face was so close a mirror image of Norephine’s own. 

“The universe is not kind,” Norephine whispered, an echo of someone else.

Nell didn’t speak to her again before Norephine’s departure. Nyrane escorted her to the ship and hugged her goodbye, but Norephine could see the anxiety in her eyes. The moment Norephine was beyond the reach of the atmosphere, Nyrane would be Queen of Corellia. That was a heavy weight to carry, and Norephine had only held it for a day.

“You’ll bloom,” Norephine promised her. She smoothed down her golden-white hair as a comfort.

Nyrane squeezed Norephine’s hand. “For the sake of our home, I hope you’re right.”

The ship took off into a violet sunset. Norephine sat in the co-pilot’s chair, but fell asleep on ascent once again. Dygstra once again swore at the exit protocols, but Norephine didn’t fully awaken until they returned to Coruscant.

When she opened her eyes, the day felt like a long, extraordinary dream. It felt impossible that it had started with Anakin giving her a concussion.

The two women exited the ship, Dygstra first. When the pilot reached the concrete floor of the empty workshop, she reached up to offer Norephine a helpful hand down. Norephine smiled and took her hand, hopping down to the ground.

“If you ever need another ride around the galaxy,” Dygstra said casually, “you know where to find me.” She punctuated the offer with a wink, and Norephine wondered how many times she could lie about errands to go on rides with Dygstra.

Norephine opened and closed her mouth. She briefly feared that she’d forgotten how to speak entirely, but words came at last. “I wanted to help my friends do what I did today,” she stammered. “They’re from Anaxes and Alderaan, if that’s not too far.”

“I don’t know,” Dygstra muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. “It all depends on if you’ll sleep those trips away. I don’t think anything’s too far a voyage if you stay in the cockpit with me.”

Norephine’s nervous laughter precipitated her response. “I’ll try,” she finally said. She offered Dygstra her hand, and Dygstra kissed the back of it dramatically. The smile it put on Norephine’s face didn’t disappear until long after she made it back to her room.

Sarenee wasn’t on her bed, but Kelisian was at the vanity, brushing through her chocolate waves. She turned around when Norephine came inside and smiled, eyes twinkling.

“I’ve had a long day,” Norephine said, voice soft with exhaustion. 

Kelisian stood up and hugged her. Norephine closed her eyes as her friend smoothed down her hair, appreciating the gesture a little more than usual. “I bet you did,” Kelisian said. She released Norephine and sized her up, making sure nothing was amiss. “Lysa came by twice,” Kelisian giggled. “Padme can’t believe you’ve enchanted the one Senator that she hasn’t.”

Lysa had asked for her? Norephine’s heart kicked up a gear or two. “What makes you say I’ve enchanted her?” she argued.

Kelisian giggled. “Call it a hunch. I’m just hoping that girl who flew you home today isn’t going to be a problem.”

Norephine recalled Dygstra’s invitation to fly her around again, and she wondered how Kelisian already knew about that. “What do you mean?” she asked, a touch of guilt in her tone.

Kelisian rolled her eyes and returned to her vanity. “That Dygstra girl was with him all day yesterday, hanging off his elbow like a pretty little leech,” she huffed. “I don’t like her.”

Norephine felt the smirk tug at her lips. She went to her bed before Kelisian could catch her blushing. “I don’t think you need to worry about her.”

“Why not?”

“Call it a hunch.”

Norephine lay on her back on her bed, but made no move to change clothes or go to sleep. She reached for her implant and sent a message.

“Sarenee said she’d be out late,” Kelisian chuckled. “Place your bets that she’s with that cute sentry.”

“Reve?” Norephine confirmed. “Maybe. He’s up her alley.”

She got a response and sat up. “I might be back late, too.”

Kelisian giggled. “Is Lysadora trying to get up  _ your _ alley?”

“No,” Norephine giggled.

Kelisian waved her off. “I don’t care, go have your fun. I’m having a ‘me’ night, anyway.”

Norephine was glad for her indifference. Without it, Kelisian might have noticed Norephine changing into her training clothes. She slipped down the hallway and all the way to the underground training rooms without being sighted.

Anakin waited for her in the hallway at the end of the dimly lit tunnel. He didn’t look tired, which was all the better for her. “What’s the urgency?” he asked. “You already trained extra today. I don’t want you burning out.”

She passed him and entered the training room. The strip lights brightened at her presence. “No more training wheels,” Norephine said. “Next time I make a mistake, I want to pay for it.”

Anakin’s brow furrowed, but he followed her. “What are you saying?”

She swallowed hard and explained herself. “I’m saying you were right. I am thick-skulled, and I won’t learn my lesson when you say it nicely. I need to get stronger, and I don’t want to be treated like a baby anymore.” She picked up a stronger saber and spun it once. When she turned back to Anakin, he had one eyebrow raised. She lifted her saber in preparation and jutted her chin up, inviting her to come at her. “So hit me.”


	13. heaven is a place on earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarenee's date with Grayle is derailed by unexpected revelations.

Sarenee fell on her back on her bed. The scent of flowers wafted out of the sheets, but they failed to soothe her anxiety. “I’m not going.”

“Hey, that’s my line,” Norephine absently pointed out. She was lacing up one of her overly complicated training boots, which she had apparently decided to wear with her gown. Although the colors matched, the aesthetics did not.

Kelisian leaned around her makeup mirror and raised an eyebrow at Sarenee. “You’re not the type to be nervous about a date. This one’s special, isn’t he?”

Sarenee rolled her eyes. “Yeah,  _ special _ is the word. We were supposed to get married before I crossed the galaxy to get out of it.”

“And he still likes you,” Kelisian pointed out. “I say he’s a keeper.”

“I say he’s creepy,” Norephine put in.

Kelisian shot Norephine a disapproving look. Sarenee probably wasn’t supposed to catch her doing it, but Kelisian wasn’t exactly discreet. She had woven metallic aquamarine ribbons into her dark hair that glimmered when she turned her head.

Sarenee wasn’t sure what side of the argument she fell on, which was irritating, because it was her own romantic endeavor in question. Grayle had been nothing but respectful to her since she’d run into him again. She had intentionally scheduled her date with him at the same time as her training with Arrica, so she wouldn’t have to spend any more time with the haughty priestess than absolutely necessary.

Sarenee deflected. “Why are you two so invested in my love life?”

Norephine laughed and twisted half her hair into a braid. “It’s not like I have anything better to do than gossip. Spending time with you and Kelisian and Padme is like a constant rotation of bad romantic choices.”

“Rude,” Kelisian protested. She looked to Sarenee earnestly. “I want you to be happy.”

“What, like you?” Sarenee countered coolly. 

Kelisian was unrattled by her tone. She just smiled. “Yes. Like me.”

Sarenee couldn’t help but search for a caveat. She found none in Kelisian’s sparkling eyes, so she was forced to ask. “Why?”

Kelisian’s cheeks reddened, and she smoothed down her satiny blue skirts. “It’s been pointed out to me that hope is a virtue,” she explained. “I have more hope for you than I do for anyone else.”

Norephine made a gagging noise.

Sarenee almost blushed, but she turned away before Kelisian could notice. “You’re just lovestruck, Lisia. I can’t trust your judgment.”

Kelisian was likely going to argue with that, but a knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Norephine was closest, and she opened the door for their visitor.

Padme entered first, followed closely by a silver-goateed man in a violet overcoat. He had sharp eyes that skimmed over the girls’ room the moment he entered. He offered Sarenee an empty smile as an afterthought, not as a greeting.

“Girls, this is Inquisitor Laks,” Padme explained briefly. 

When the Inquisitor bowed politely, Sarenee met Padme’s gaze. There was a warning in her usually warm eyes, a tightness in her jaw. Sarenee needed no more explanation-- the Inquisitor was not to be trusted. 

“Good afternoon, Ladies,” Laks said politely. He stood from his bow and took in the three women. “This is just a routine interview. With all the whispers going around right now, we think it’s best to gather as much information as possible about our residents.”

“We’re not official residents,” Norephine piped up. “We’re technically the Senator’s dependents.”

“They go where I go unless they’re on official leave,” Padme explained further. She was doing a good job of pretending to comply, but Sarenee hadn’t missed that caution in her eyes from a moment ago.

Laks nodded knowingly, and Sarenee tried to keep a straight face. If he knew that already, he would know not to interview the Ladies as Coruscant residents. He was here for something else. Whatever it was, he didn’t care if his lie held up under scrutiny. He was confident, and that made Sarenee nervous.

“All the same, you three spend a lot of time here,” he acknowledged. “We think it’s only fair that we speak to you about your experiences. It’s the hospitality sector’s responsibility.” He turned to Padme, a respectful smile on his face. “If I might speak to them alone, Highness?”

Padme’s brow furrowed. “Hospitality feedback isn’t sensitive information, Inquisitor. I’ll stay.” She was not asking permission.

Sarenee suppressed a smile. She loved Padme.

“I suppose not,” the inquisitor agreed. He was obviously irritated by her failure to comply, but he wasn’t in a position to contradict her. He pasted a smile on his face and looked at Kelisian. “Have you ladies come across anything you would consider…unseemly?”

“Unseemly?” Sarenee and Norephine repeated simultaneously.

The inquisitor smiled like he pitied them. “It’s a term meaning--”

“I know what ‘unseemly’  _ means _ ,” Sarenee snapped. She composed herself and continued. “Your use of the word is vague. What are you talking around?”

Inquisitor Laks’ face was a mask of displeasure. He obviously wasn’t expecting to find a Lady as willful as Sarenee. “It’s to be believed that there’s dangerous ideology being spread throughout high society,” Laks explained. He spoke the words as if they tasted sour, his lips twisting unpleasantly. “We want to make sure no one’s been pouring poison in the ears of such high Ladies as yourselves.”

“Are you accusing my Ladies of treasonous activity?” Padme interrupted, one eyebrow raised. She was speaking evenly, but her expression was unforgiving.

“We know nothing of the activity of which you speak,” Sarenee supported her. She crossed her arms and settled her weight on one hip. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a diplomatic meeting to attend. Please exit my room.”

Inquisitor Laks clearly didn’t want to leave, but Padme ushered him out to the apartment door and saw him into the hallway. When he was gone, she turned around and faced the three girls. “What have you been up to?”

“Nothing, if you’re going to be angry with us,” Norephine muttered.

Padme’s expression softened. She stepped away from the door and studied her three friends.

Sarenee snuck a glance at Kelisian, whose face was easiest to read. She was avoiding Padme’s eyes, twisting her hands in her robe.

“What are you wearing?”

Kelisian conspicuously hugged herself in a failing attempt to conceal her training clothes. “Nothing.”

“I hear a lot of ‘nothing’ for there to be a very obvious ‘something’ on your minds,” Padme said. 

She was no fool, and Sarenee knew better than to lie to her. When Padme fixed her dark eyes on Sarenee, there was no falsehood there.

“We’re learning to fight,” Sarenee said plainly.

Norephine gawked and Kelisian opened her mouth to protest, but Sarenee went on regardless. There was no use lying to Padme now.

“Inquisitor Laks is sniffing around us because something stinks,” Sarenee explained. “There have been some strange things happening lately that we couldn’t brush off, so we’re taking control of the unknown.”

“You’re talking vaguely, just like the Inquisitor,” Padme said coolly. She was handling this well, overall. “Be specific.”

“Kelisian blew up the ship that crashed into the Senate,” Sarenee obliged. She realized that sounded a bit confusing, too, so she clarified, “With her mind.”

Padme looked at Kelisian. “Is that true?”

Kelisian nodded, but didn’t dare speak.

Before Kelisian could become angry at being revealed, Sarenee exposed herself as well. “I started to… compel people. Like I could control their minds with my words.”

Padme looked to her youngest friend. “I know better than to think you’re not tangled up in this, too,” she whispered apprehensively.

Norephine shook her head. “I keep having dreams,” she confessed, “dreams that don’t feel like dreams at all. They feel like… backward memories.”

“Prophetic dreams,” Padme said. Her brows knit together, as if she’d heard the words before. “What do you dream of?”

Norephine didn’t expect that question, and it showed when she scrambled for words. “I-- um, I dreamed that my...  _ friend  _ was going to give me a concussion. He did, exactly how I imagined it. Said the same words and everything.”

She was holding back, but Padme didn’t push her. Sarenee didn’t know why, but she counted her blessings and remained grateful that Norephine had kept her mouth shut about who, exactly, had given her a concussion. 

“I wish you had told me sooner,” Padme admitted. There was hurt in her soft voice, and Sarenee’s guilt grew heavier. “I would have helped you. Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course we do,” Kelisian emphasized.

Norephine nodded. “It wasn’t about you. We thought we should find out more about what was happening to us before we made it your problem. You have so much to worry about already.”

Padme scoffed. “Don’t be like that. You three are my favorite people to worry about.”

“I’m worried about  _ you _ ,” Sarenee countered. She stepped forward and studied her lifelong friend, whose kind face was drawn with concern. “We keep so many secrets from each other. It’s going to tear us apart.”

Padme’s gaze darted away. She couldn’t hold Sarenee’s stare, like she had secrets of her own.

“I’m going to meet with Grayle today,” Sarenee said, as a sign of openness. She didn’t want to lie anymore, even if Kelisian and Norephine were clinging to their falsehoods. 

“When you’re done, I want to hear all about it,” Padme smiled. 

Warmth sparked in Sarenee’s chest. It felt like when she’d gone on her first date since arriving on Coruscant, and Padme had helped do her hair. If they could go back to a time when things were that simple, maybe everything would be all right. 

Then again, it felt like everything was only growing more complicated by the minute. How much honesty could they afford to give Padme before her secrets became indistinguishable from their own?

“Tonight,” Kelisian decided. “Tonight, we’re going to catch up.”

It was a promise, although none of them spoke it aloud. Sarenee excused herself to finish preparing for her non-date with Grayle, leaving Kelisiand and Padme to talk. She grabbed Norephine by the elbow as she passed, not wanting to be alone.

When they returned to their room, Norephine found a spot on her bed and pulled her top sheet over her legs. She hugged her knees and watched Sarenee fasten her earrings with a waiting silence.

“If you have something to say, out with it,” Sarenee said cheerfully.

Norephine obliged, but her tone didn’t match Sarenee’s cheer. “Have you thought about his ulterior motives?”

Sarenee paused, and she watched her expression wrinkle in the reflection of her mirror. “What are you talking about?” Sarenee asked. She didn’t know where Norephine’s sudden cynicism had come from.

Norephine shifted on her bed, fiddling with her blanket. “Maybe he knows what we’re up to, and he’s going to try and use you as a bargaining chip.”

Sarenee knew her sharpness would get through to Norephine, even if she didn’t like it. “I’m not you, Nori,” she reminded her coolly. “Not everyone is out to kidnap me.”

“I didn’t say they were,” Norephine protested. She sat up straighter and put aside her blanket. “I just want to point out that we’re beyond the luxury of seeing the best in people. If you choose now to see it in Grayle, that’s your decision. I only hope you know what you’re risking.”

Sarenee paused. She watched Norephine’s expression in the mirror. Something about the cadence of her words was unfamiliar. “Who said that to you?”

Norephine scowled. “What?”

Sarenee fastened her earring and asked more clearly, “Who are you parroting? That coldness, that pessimism. It doesn’t sound like you.”

Norephine looked down at her lap, but didn’t say a name. She simply shrugged. “I’m being realistic.”

“Well, I don’t like it,” Sarenee joked. She finished her lipstick and righted herself. “Now, if you could put away your jaded persona, tell me how pretty I am.”

Norephine groaned, but obliged. “You look wonderful,” she reluctantly admitted.

Sarenee smiled at her reflection before turning to face Norephine. She was hugging her knees and rubbing the fabric of her sheets between her thumb and forefinger. It was a habit she’d harbored forever, and a telltale sign that she was anxious.

Time was ticking, but Sarenee was willing to be fashionably late. It was only her mysterious royal ex-fiance she was meeting, after all. She approached Norephine and leaned against the foot of her bed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Norephine narrowed her eyes. She was looking for deception, but found none. “About what?”

“Take your pick of our recent experiences, but I was asking about your attitude, in particular,” Sarenee clarified. “You’re not like this, quiet and brooding and cynical. Something’s going on.”

Norephine hugged her knees tighter. “Yeah.”

“And I want to know what it is,” Sarenee prompted. She realized how impatient she sounded and tacked on, “If you want to tell me, anyway.”

Norephine’s hand stopped moving. She released her blanket and let out a breath. “I can’t feel powerless again. That’s why I’m training extra.”

Sarenee’s brows knit together. “You’ve never been powerless, Norephine.”

“Of course I have,” the younger girl argued. “I couldn’t stop my father from siphoning the life out of my planet, or out of me. I needed saving. I don’t ever want to need saving again.”

Sarenee didn’t say anything for a moment. She hadn’t asked about the trip to Corellia, because Norephine had never been prone to withholding information she wanted to share. If she was silent, she was silent for a reason. 

“I think you know what you need to do better than I do,” Sarenee admitted.

Norephine met her eyes. Her dark eyes were wide with surprise, but she waited for an explanation without another word.

Sarenee sighed. “If it’s strength you want, it’s strength you’ll get. But you know Lisia and I are always here when you need us.”

Norephine smiled, but there was a touch of sadness in her expression. “I know. I just wish I didn’t need you so much.”

Sarenee’s heart ached. Norephine had been through hell lately, and she wasn’t equipped to deal with that kind of intensity. She crawled onto Norephine’s bed and sat beside her against the wall. Sarenee studied her friend like Kelisian would. She took account of her downcast eyes and the breakout on her forehead. Her eyes were bogged down by dark circles.

“I’ll totally kill your dad for you,” Sarenee said.

Norephine chuckled and leaned her head on Sarenee’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

Sarenee leaned her cheek on the top of Norephine’s head. The universe became darker by the day, and she couldn’t afford to lose any more light. Her friends kept her from giving up.

The door opened and Kelisian returned, a frown creasing her face. The inquisitor did not accompany her, and neither did Padme.

“What’s wrong?” Norephine asked without lifting her head.

Kelisian turned around and leaned against the door, her hands cushioning her back against the metal. “Padme told me what the inquisitor really wanted.”

“And?” Sarenee prompted her.

Kelisian swallowed hard. “She said he used to be a member of the Senate safety commission. He was close with the Emperor, back in the day.”

Sarenee narrowed her eyes. That wasn’t good news. 

“I don’t like the conclusions I’m drawing here,” Norephine muttered.

“Me neither,” Kelisian agreed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say we’ve put ourselves on an undesirable radar.”

“You probably shouldn’t know better,” Sarenee replied. It would make sense for them to have drawn attention. They couldn’t get away with everything. 

She could, however, ignore her problems for the moment. She’d still be an enemy of the state in a couple hours. 

“I have to go meet Grayle,” Sarenee announced.

Kelisian’s eyes glimmered mischievously. It seemed that she, too, was ready to cast aside their more threatening problems. “You ready to open that steel heart of yours?”

Sarenee rolled her eyes. “Please, Lisia. Steel hearts are exactly what we all need right now.” She tightened her regal ponytail, laced with threads of gold. “I don’t need a boyfriend, I need an ally, and I could certainly do worse than a wealthy prince.”

Kelisian sighed as Sarenee stood up and turned to show off her outfit. Sparks of rose gold showered the alabaster walls of their bedroom. “How do I look?”

“You’re gorgeous, as usual,” Kelisian admitted, though her voice was not overflowing with delight. “Try not to get your wires crossed with that wealthy prince of yours. I think he’s in for more than allyship.”

“Then he will find himself disappointed,” Sarenee retorted. She glanced at her reflection and smiled.

Kelisian sighed and checked her messages. “I’m going to head downstairs early. Don’t break anybody’s heart too hard today, all right?”

“No promises.”

Kelisian looked toward Norephine. “Are you coming, Nori?”

Norephine sighed. “I guess so. I’m still so sore, so I hope they go easy on us.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Kelisian teased.

Both girls slipped through the doors to the apartment and Kelisian gently closed the door behind her. Sarenee had no intention of wasting her time on mind-warping melodies today. She was a politician, not a warrior.

She continued her search for her favored lipstick. It wasn’t in the right drawer, so Kelisian or Norephine must have borrowed some while Sarenee wasn’t looking. Sarenee moved to Norephine’s dresser next to check that she hadn’t misplaced it in her makeup box.

There was a knock on the door only moments before Ervane entered, dressed like a doorboy. It was strange to see him in such gentlemanly clothing, although Sarenee should have adjusted to it by now. 

Ervane looked around the bedroom and frowned at its emptiness. “Are you the only one here?”

Sarenee rolled her eyes. “Sorry to let you down, but yes. You just missed your girlfriend. And you should know that you’ve broken a half dozen protocols by opening our bedroom door.”

Ervane didn’t bother responding to that. He crossed the room and offered Sarenee a folded piece of paper. “I don’t know who to tell about this.”

Sarenee gingerly unfolded the paper, which she quickly realized was a photograph. A shining metal figure stood proudly in the center of a square, three smaller figures sitting at his feet. The children were all girls, all smiling sweetly. The oldest was perhaps ten. As Sarenee looked closer, she realized that the piece was a statue of the Leelas.

“Whatever Norephine did,” Ervane said with an anxious shake of his head, “Corellia noticed.”

Sarenee understood what he meant. Agnamorus was missing his head. Red paint spilled out from the ragged edge of his neck, trickling down to his chest, which read ‘ _ COULD’VE-BEEN KING _ ’ in the same scarlet shade. Sarenee’s gaze was drawn to the only other place the red paint had spilled-- across the lap of child Norephine, where Agnamorus’ head had been placed. His crown, however, now sat atop the head of Nyrane. It was too big for her.

She chuckled lowly. “Oh, this is lovely. They’re keeping it like this, right?”

Ervane flipped the paper over in Sarenee’s hands. “She toppled her dad and made herself queen. If the rumors are right, she played dirty. You’re not the slightest bit concerned about what this means?”

On the back of the page was another image. This one was a photo of a mural on a silver building’s wall. Again, the head of Agnamorus, held aloft by his hair in a spray-painted Norephine’s fist. This time, she wore the crown. Words were hastily inscribed across the image, reading ‘ _ there are no strings on me’ _ .

“What  _ does _ it mean?” Sarenee muttered. She squinted at the mural, trying to unite her lifelong roommate with the bloodied princess in the picture. What strings were they referring to?

“Norephine made an example of her father and his cronies in front of the entire planet,” Ervane whispered. “Dygstra said she accompanied her to take down an entire syndicate in one day. I don’t think she knows how many enemies she just made.”

Sarenee tried not to think about what she’d heard of Corellia’s syndicate problem. Even her family stayed clear of them and only did business through Agnamorus. “She’s not a child.”

“No, she’s certainly not,” Ervane agreed. “Now the whole parsec knows it.”

With the amount of secret knowledge shared between the three women who shared the bedroom, being watched was not ideal. If Norephine’s reign had backfired, the leaders who’d been affected might not dismiss her as a useless Lady anymore. Sarenee and Kelisian would be implicated as other possible players in a game they’d never understood.

Sarenee spotted her lipstick on Norephine’s vanity. She walked to the opposite side of the room and applied it in her friend’s mirror. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You’re not concerned?” Ervane asked incredulously.

Sarenee capped the lipstick. “Of course I am. Norephine’s made a name for herself as a troublemaker instead of a useless princess. Your girlfriend blows things up sometimes. On top of that, we’re all about to be servants of a dictatorship.” She righted herself and faced Ervane with a polite smile. “I’m very concerned. I simply have my priorities in order. Now, if you could leave our bedroom first so no one suspects you’re stealing from us, I’ll follow you out.”

Ervane didn’t argue. He walked alongside her to the outer doors of the apartment. 

As she crossed the parlor and neared the second door to the hall, Reve’s hazel eyes flickered over Sarenee just long enough for her to take notice. “You look nice today, my Lady,” he said.

Sarenee stopped in her tracks and looked at the doorboy. He was breaking a handful of protocols just by addressing her out of turn, let alone daring to compliment her. He was new-- that, or Sarenee had been so preoccupied by her recent adventures that she hadn’t noticed him yet. He had a reformed rascal look to him, with clothes that were nice but slightly too small and a curious glint in his eye. Sarenee hadn’t had a taste of his kind in a while.

“Thank you, Reve,” Sarenee said, even though she didn’t have to. She dared a glance at the doorboy with curious green eyes. “I think you look quite handsome today, as well.”

He smirked, but kept his composure. His eyes remained respectfully downcast. “Thank you, Lady Slandor.”

Sarenee loved the look of a boy who knew he didn’t deserve her smile. Grayle Andorra, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, would soon be one of them.

He stood up straight when Sarenee emerged. “Lady Slandor,” he greeted her with a deep bow. When he lifted his head, his blue eyes glinted with admiration. “You look beautiful, if I may say so.”

“You may,” Sarenee replied with a smirk. Something about the man she’d publicly disrespected bowing to her made her heart race. She made the first move toward the elevator. “Where are we spending our afternoon, Prince Andorra?”

“I know of a skyline tower that has excellent lunch,” he said. He offered her his arm, and Sarenee looped hers through it. Grayle walked at her pace toward the elevator at the end of the hall. “I’ll pay, of course.”

“How suddenly chivalrous, for a jilted fiance,” Sarenee teased him. With the eyes of passerby lingering on her, she felt confident enough to tease him, despite his outranking of her. 

Grayle didn’t seem to mind. His smile remained bright as he entered the elevator, still linking arms with Sarenee. “I heard about what happened with your companion from the ballet,” he said.

Sarenee’s smile rapidly dried up. “What?”

“Your young friend,” Grayle clarified with a wave of his hand. He took a sip of his drink before continuing. “The white-haired princess, the daughter of the Could’ve-Been King. I’m amazed that she ran headlong into danger like she did,” he chuckled. “One would think a princess would know when to turn the cheek. You certainly do, but then again, you’re what I would imagine the perfect princess to be.”

Sarenee leveled him with a stare of higher intensity. “I would advise you to hold your tongue, Prince Andorra.”

“Yes, yes,” Grayle waved her off. “I don’t mean to sound dismissive, just to point out her defiance. She’s a bit of a… what would you call it? A spitfire?”

“Norephine is driven,” Sarenee rectified him sternly. Her tone was sharp and unbending. “I will admit, she’s more naive than most, but all the same, I value her as my own sister. Although she would not take your comments to heart, I certainly might, and I would indulge the idea of retaliating upon them.”

Grayle nodded respectfully. “Of course, my Lady. I didn’t intend any disrespect.”

Sarenee straightened her spine and looked toward the opening elevator door. She exited to the intracity shuttle, but didn’t pull away from Grayle. “I would hope you know better, should you find out where Norephine learned her defiance.”

Grayle was quiet, but Sarenee felt a smile tickle her lips.

“Are people really calling him that?” she asked.

Grayle appeared confused. “Calling who what?”

“Agnamorus Leela,” Sarenee specified. “Are people calling him the Could’ve-Been King?”

Grayle nodded solemnly, and Sarenee thought she spied a slight curl to his upper lip. “If I may be so brazen, it’s high time someone toppled him from that pedestal. Planets and their people are not pawns to be bought and sold on a whim. Queen Brigite would have had him exiled years ago, if she was still alive.”

Sarenee didn’t know what to say. After a pause, she settled on, “You are nothing like I remember you, Prince Andorra.”

Grayle smiled gratefully. His eyes were a pleasant shade of blue. “I hope to continue surprising you, my Lady.”

*

After a lunch of some delicacy Grayle claimed was all the rage on his cousin’s home planet, Sarenee had decided not to hate him anymore. In fact, she was genuinely enjoying herself until something prickled at the back of her neck.

Grayle noted the shift in Sarenee’s expression and mirrored it. His brows knit together in concern. “What’s the matter?”

Sarenee bit her lower lip. “I’m not sure.”

She looked over her shoulder at the restaurant. It was primarily floor seating, with a few bartop tables on the edges of the room. Drinks in pastel colors gleamed in the sunlight on the tabletops, but something else shining caught Sarenee’s eye.

A familiar head of golden hair shone in the sunlight across the room. Sarenee recognized the clothing first-- loose white fabric, platinum accessories-- and the face second. Senator Frane stood arm in arm with a trader Sarenee had seen lurking about the docks on Alderaan. 

Lysadora was laughing, with a violet drink in her delicate hand.

“Do you know her?” Grayle asked, following Sarenee’s gaze to Lysadora.

Sarenee nodded, a frown creasing her expression, and focused on the other woman. 

Lysadora’s posture was relaxed, her eyes twinkling. She smiled as the trader spoke to her, then leaned over a hologram disk he extended in her direction. Sarenee couldn’t tell what she was looking at.

Her mind raced. What was Lysadora doing here, and why would she be flirting with a scummy trader Sarenee wouldn’t dare speak to?

“You look angry,” Grayle observed calmly.

Sarenee sighed. It failed to slow her pounding heart. “I am.”

“Are you angry with me?”

“No.”

Grayle nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose that’s all I can reasonably ask of you, but I’m going to ask more, anyway. Who  _ are _ you angry with?”

“That’s an unreasonable question,” Sarenee countered. She tried to keep her eyes on Grayle, but Lysadora’s glinting golden hair drew her attention anyway. 

“A few unreasonable questions never killed anyone,” Grayle replied. 

“Would you like to be the first?” Sarenee snapped.

She realized too late that her tone was too sharp, and Grayle had been nothing but kind to her all day. The late afternoon light made his eyes seem even cooler blue, like pools of sapphire.

She looked away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

Grayle simply chuckled and took a sip of his drink. “It’s all right, my Lady. Although I’d hate to know how you treat people you  _ do _ hate.”

Sarenee didn’t answer. She was debating getting up and demanding to know what Lysadora was doing talking to that guy, but thought better of it. With a little meddling, this could become valuable blackmail. As much as Sarenee disliked Lysadora, flaunting the same power as Padme with far less intellect, she knew a favor from the luxury planet Senator could be useful.

Grayle didn’t speak, but she felt his gaze on her.

After a handful of heartbeats, Sarenee fixed her eyes on him. Her face was a mask of indifference. “What?”

“You’re nothing like I remember you,” he responded.

He said it like it was a good thing.

Sarenee allowed herself to refocus on him. Kelisian’s voice echoed in her head. If she were here right now, she’d tell her to prioritize. She was a duchess, not a bounty hunter. She should be more focused on her date than on Norephine’s favorite politician, who was probably cooking up some vile scheme right about now--

“I’m sorry I treated you badly when we were young,” Grayle said. 

Sarenee’s eyes widened. That wasn’t what she expected him to say. Her mind was circling conspiracies, not apologies.

“You deserve to be loved,” Grayle said honestly. His icy blue eyes glimmered, glancing briefly downwards before meeting Sarenee’s gaze again. “You deserve to be loved well, by someone who’s worth more than their words alone.”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she bit back the urge to respond. He would sit in silence for that. Sarenee would test his nerve by leaving him hanging. She was mostly convinced of his truth by now, but there was a single stitch left untied in her chest. It kept her from saying she was sorry, too, for running away like she had.

She wasn’t sure if it was true. Running away from him had led him back to her now, and this was the Grayle she wanted. Not the spoiled, cruel one she’d met years ago.

Lysadora and her trader friend started to walk toward the door. At the same time, Sarenee received a message from Norephine that she was needed in the underground training rooms.

Sarenee swallowed hard and looked at Grayle. She didn’t like that she wanted to stay here with him, wanted to ignore everything else and talk until the sun went down. 

“This date went perfectly,” Sarenee said, maintaining eye contact with him.

Grayle looked confused, but she spoke again before he could break her focus.

“You took me home and nothing suspicious happened at all,” she said with such certainty that he wouldn’t question her. His mind was pliable, open. He was untrained to resist powers like hers. She’d gotten stronger in the past few weeks.

“I took you home. The date went perfectly,” he repeated. A smile played at the corner of his mouth.

Sarenee’s gaze moved to the door where Lysadora was heading. In another few seconds, she’d lose her for good.

“Leave now,” Sarenee said to Grayle.

Grayle nodded. “I’m leaving now.”

As if in a trance, he rose from his seat and left the dining room. Sarenee wasted no time following Lysadora.

*

Hours later, Sarenee returned to her suite. The door had hardly closed when Kelisian and Norephine slipped out of the bedroom, wearing their gray training clothes. Both sported unusually simple ponytails, and Kelisian still looked half-asleep.

Sarenee stopped in her tracks when she spotted them. “What are you doing?”

“You didn’t check your messages,” Norephine shrugged. “We’ve been called downstairs.”

She looked tired. Sarenee elected not to tell her what she’d seen of Lysadora until the moment was right, and she was less likely to cry about it.

“It’s late,” Sarenee whispered. She cast a wary gaze toward the opposite side of the parlor. Padme was sleeping on the other side of her bedroom door, and she couldn’t find out what her Ladies were up to by night. 

It would also be incredibly rude to wake her, regardless of the reason why.

Kelisian nodded, her eyes glimmering with excitement. “I know. Apparently, there’s urgent news. They didn’t specify if we were supposed to dress out or not, so we prepared just in case.”

Sarenee looked down at her clothes. She wasn’t in the mood to change them, and she didn’t feel inclined to go out of her way for Arrica and the boys. “I’ll take my chances.”

The girls met with no resistance as they slipped down the shadowy hallway to the underground tunnel. None of them spoke a word as they walked.

Sarenee wondered if the silence was a method to avoid discussing the growing sense that jaws were closing around them. The inquisitor this morning, the information she’d gathered from Grayle, and the sudden summoning to the training rooms pointed towards an ominous conclusion.

Someone was watching them.

*

“It’s not something we see often,” Obi-Wan explained, “so we had to consult outside our usual circle.”

“Which is to say they had to ask me for help,” Arrica informed the girls. She shot a look over her shoulder at Obi-Wan that almost made Sarenee crack a smile. She held tight to her dislike for Arrica and maintained a straight face. 

Arrica’s eyes glinted with humor. “They don’t like to admit it, but the Jedi aren’t actually the harbingers of all knowledge.”

As intriguing as that sounded, Sarenee didn’t want to sift through the rivalry right now. “What did you find out?” she asked, getting to the point.

“No single one of you has a high enough midichlorian count to be as powerful as you appear to be,” Anakin explained. He glanced toward Norephine for a moment before meeting Sarenee’s eyes. “Between the three of you, Kelisian is the only one with enough natural Force sensitivity to even train as a Jedi, and I don’t know if she’d be successful.”

Kelisian scoffed and was about to defend herself, but Obi-Wan interrupted first. “That isn’t to say you’re not powerful,” he assured her. He shot a glare toward Anakin. “We’ve seen proof that the three of you possess powers beyond what you should be capable of.”

“I had an idea when we had you three practice last week,” Arrica explained. She pointed at Kelisian. “When Anakin asked you to lift your shoe from the floor using the Force, you were fine. When the challenge got harder, and you were trying to levitate a table instead, you could still do it, but something strange happened.” Arrica moved her hand to point at Sarenee instead, but she still spoke to Kelisian. “Sarenee had to sit down.”

Sarenee’s brows drew together. She barely recalled the incident Arrica was speaking of, but she knew that Kelisian’s use of the Force shouldn’t have anything to do with her own tiredness. “I sat down because I had to fight off a Sith spy the night before, not because of Kelisian,” she argued.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Arrica said confidently. 

Sarenee wondered how confident she would be if a regular, non-Force-using hand smacked her in her frustratingly pretty face. 

“The same thing happened when you would sing, and Norephine would go get a water break every time without fail,” Africa explained further. “Every time Norephine attempted Force healing, Kelisian pinched the bridge of her nose.”

“It gave me a headache,” Kelisian whispered, mostly to herself. “What’s your point?”

Anakin took over the explanation from there. “You three are part of a somewhat rare phenomenon called a Force tryad,” he said evenly. “Long story short, you share all the benefits that one very powerful Force user would enjoy on his own.”

“But I can’t move objects with my mind,” Sarenee protested with a hand extended toward Kelisian.

“Yet,” Arrica piped up. When all three Ladies looked to her in surprise, she shrugged. “Theoretically, all of you can do anything when you’re working together. Kelisian has a natural inclination for telekinesis, but that doesn’t mean she’s the only one who can do it. She could learn to Force heal. Norephine could become a siren.”

“How is that even possible?” Kelisian protested.

“It might be a result of your closeness, both physically and emotionally,” Obi-Wan explained patiently. “You’ve been playing to each of your strengths and covering for each other’s weaknesses for over a decade. It comes as naturally to you as breathing.”

Sarenee thought about it, and memories began to unfold as she followed the idea through her history. Moments of synchronicity she dismissed as habit, like calling Norephine in the middle of the night on holiday breaks, only to find her sitting awake after a nightmare. Kelisian used to hug her when she needed it most and hadn’t gathered the courage to ask.

“What do we do now?” Norephine asked unsurely.

Obi-Wan nodded at Arrica with an expectant smile.

Arrica looked at the three girls, her eyes lingering on Sarenee. “You learn to share. You learn to listen. Most importantly, you learn to fight together, because none of you are strong enough to stand alone.”

Sarenee glared at her, but held her tongue. Arrica would learn just how strong she was soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i abandoned this by accident lol but here's my favorite bitch princess <3 lmk what you think


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